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Low Self-Esteem

Is Your Teen Suffering From Yours?

By Tamekia Reece

If you'd like to do something about your lack of self-esteem, you have to get to work fast. Some of the most important steps you can take are:

• Admit to yourself that you have a problem. Don't be embarrassed or feel guilty because you have an issue with your self-esteem. We all go through bouts of low self-confidence. Admitting to yourself that yours isn't just periodic, but instead something serious, is the first step toward establishing healthy self-esteem.
• Don't try to hide it from your teen. After you realize your lackluster self-esteem could be potentially hurting your child, you may try to hide it. Don't! Instead, just like you admitted to yourself that there's a problem, you should do the same with your teen. Let her know that you haven't been feeling too good about some things, but because you love her and want to have a happy family, you're going to get help.
• Get help. If this trail of low self-esteem is something new to you or just a very brief cloud of dislike, you may be able to remedy the problem with the support of family and friends. But if it's something you've dealt with long-term or your self-esteem has hit rock-bottom, you may need to seek professional help. Whether it be a psychologist, psychotherapist, religious leader or even a counseling group, get help! If you don't do it for yourself, then do it for your teen's sake, because as Jain points out, "Children are resilient and can overcome much, [but] why not allow them to start with as clean a slate as possible?"