Sometimes it’s tough for me to gauge how my moods are and how I will behave. I can’t really say that I have an average everyday mood. Each day is different and moods and how you feel (especially about yourself) can be triggered by an event, a person, a situation, etc…
It is tough to feel your best or confident if you have constant triggers that can make you feel low or insecure. Trust me, there are some people out there who are good at that. I have had plenty of times, in certain situations, such as work or school or just in a mutual circle of friends/acquaintances that have made me feel “sub-par” or insecure about myself. IT SUCKS!! I can be in the greatest mood and feel good only to have it ruined by a person! And here I am wondering “what the heck did I ever do to him or her?!” If something or someone becomes a constant trigger, it can impact the way we start feeling about ourselves. Just by being in the same situation, person, place, thing… can put a damper on our self-esteem and make our insecurities rise!
If you can avoid triggers all together and never come across a negative person…I say “STAY IN THAT BUBBLE of yours!” But if you are like me, where you have felt “put through the wringer” or feel like it’s a constant battle to try feel your best everyday…YOU are not alone!
The trick is to practice healthy coping skills and do what we have to do to make us feel our best. Whether it be therapy, working out, books, podcasts, friends, pets, etc… I can go on and on.
Sometimes getting ready and putting on makeup in the morning even though I don’t feel good about myself makes me feel better and I am able to get the day started a little more confidently.
Remember the exercise I wanted you to practice in my last blog? Have you tried giving yourself a positive affirmation every day? Appreciating yourself at least for 1-2 min about all the positives you like about yourself? I know it can be tough to do every day, but repetition, it will become routine and part of our day. Like I mentioned in the last blog, it will be part of your routine just like brushing your teeth every morning. Eventually these affirmations will start strengthening our self-esteem and how we feel about ourselves.
Let’s add another exercise to help our self-confidence and build positive Self-Esteem.
- Spend time with supportive people.
Like I mentioned earlier, people play a big part on how we feel about each other. Spending time with positive people who support you and truly want you to be better will help you feel good about yourself. This also goes for what we watch on TV or social media. Staying away from things we listen, watch or read that will make us feel insecure can impact our self-esteem,
For example, when I am on social media and see these women with perfect bodies and skin, I feel like I am not good enough or insecure about how I look.
Let’s try to read, watch, listen to things that can make us feel good about ourselves. Spending time with people who are positive and supportive will make a difference in how we feel about ourselves, also affecting how we treat other people.
Get to know your Orange County Psychiatrist – give us a call.