Self-esteem in people with addictions

Surely, you have ever wondered what self-esteem is and what it has to do with the person and especially with addiction problems. Well the answer is "a lot". In fact, self-esteem is directly related to our feelings, our thoughts, and our own perception of who we are.

https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/psicologiaexpres/2XzFq7Ym-Low-Self-Esteem-1138x493.jpg

Sometimes it can be more or less easy to determine if your self-esteem is at a certain level. However, it is quite possible that even if you have it through the roof, it is actually at a low level, but that you refuse to see it and try to make up for it. Addictions often cause low spirits, and that can cause self-esteem to crash .

Is my self-esteem affected?

To know how to measure something, it is necessary to be aware of what it is that we measure. Now, here are some questions so that you can elucidate what is the level of your self-esteem:

• Do you think you deserve to be loved?
• Do you have something positive that you can contribute to others?
• Do you feel satisfaction with you?
• How is your attitude towards you?
• Do you think you are capable of doing things as well as others at least?

If you answered "Yes" to most of the questions, it can be said that you have healthy self-esteem . Otherwise, it would be good for you to learn to appreciate yourself, and if necessary, to seek specialized help for it. But also, if you suffer from an addiction and the answers have been affirmative, do not doubt that asking for advice is the best thing you can do.

Denial of the problem due to lack of acceptance and resistance to treatment for recovery is very common in addicted people . Anyway, if you have come this far you are one step away from changing your life, to savoring freedom and well-being, with yourself and with your loved ones. Trust the experts and don't wait any longer to get out of the addictive maze, regardless of the answer to these questions. The self-deception characteristic of addiction always tries to camouflage the reality of how you really perceive yourself.

Some keys about self-esteem

You should know that self-esteem is influenced by many factors that can become decisive . Basically, internal and external factors influence self-esteem.

When we talk about external factors, we refer to our personal and family relationships with other people, how they have treated us, what messages they have transmitted to us and the trust they have placed in us as individuals. That is, if they have placed that trust, have made us see our positive aspects and minimized our defects, self-esteem will be high. However, if the circumstance has been the opposite (too many criticisms, judgments and demands), surely our self-esteem will be on the ground.

It is important to note that only if you have a reasonably healthy level of self-esteem will you be able to help another person improve it. It is logical to think that if yours is low, you cannot extol the virtues of another, or even see them . It is a vicious cycle that must be broken.

Regarding internal factors, genetics have a lot to say. There are many studies that suggest that our personality traits have a lot to do with how we see ourselves . People who tend to be depressed or anxious generally have a harder time accepting themselves for who they are and evaluating themselves positively. For this reason, these people are going to have to make a great effort to bring their self-esteem to healthy levels.

Thus, and to conclude, we will say that self-esteem is the conjunction of both aspects, genetic inheritance and external factors . This is what determines the actual level.

Why do you have to have healthy self-esteem?

To this question, it can be answered that thanks to self-esteem, we can achieve three main benefits for our mental health.

First of all, having good self-esteem allows us to better cope with the difficulties we encounter in life . By perceiving ourselves positively, we are better able to trust ourselves to overcome these obstacles. We will be more decisive.

Second, we will have the ability to continue to advance our goals with a better chance of achieving them . We will be believing in ourselves and that will allow us to get closer to what we want in a more sincere and more realistic way. It will make us more capable.

Relationships with others will be healthier. High self-esteem will allow us to avoid toxic and excessively dependent relationships . We will be able to choose who we want in our lives and the contact with them will be what we want to have. We will be happier.

Article Referenced:
https://www.psychological-consulting.com