Self Esteem

As a therapist, an issue I often run across is that people don't like themselves. For us
to like ourselves, it is important that we get constant positive feedback. When we are
children we look to our parents to build our little egos so that we can feel valuable
and important. On the other, hand, parents are busy and feel overwhelmed. They may
not know the best things to say or do. They may well have their own emotional
problems. It's easy for parents to get caught up in correcting their children more than
praising them. This lack of positive feedback and reinforcement goes a long way to
undermining our good feelings about ourselves as we are growing up.

For adults, positive feedback is often in short supply. At work, bosses more often tell
employees what they are doing wrong. Supervisors, managers and executives,
customers and clients have priorities other than reinforcing our positive self-image.
So as adults, our sense of self does not usually get the reinforcement we need. In our
personal life, when we are married, it is not unusual for spouses to comment and
think about what is wrong with their partner. All this negative reinforcement is fertile
ground for low self-esteem. The psychological reality is that most of us need
reassurance. We need to know that we are thought of as being valued, capable,
worthwhile human beings

Let's see where you fall on the self-esteem scale. Here are some questions for you to
answer.