About low self-esteem

Low self-esteem refers to a person’s belief that they will never be able to achieve something well or impressive. Self-esteem is the degree to which a person is confident, regards himself as valuable, and has self-respect. Self-esteem has been shown to have a significant impact on a person’s well-being. Self-criticism, self-doubt, suppressed rage, social isolation, and shame are all associated with low self-esteem (Marigold et al., 2014).

Self-esteem is not a sickness, but rather a sign of other mental health issues such as sadness and anxiety. A person with low self-esteem has a low opinion of themselves, which can express in a variety of behaviors such as hypersensitivity to criticism, hesitation, and guilt. Now that low self-esteem is not a condition on its own, in combination with other symptoms, it may point to other conditions like depression, bipolar disorder, anxiety, and personality disorder (Marigold et al., 2014).

Symptoms

Symptoms of people with low self-esteem include lack of self-confidence, they tend to be frightened of almost everything in life, they lack assertiveness, they pretend to be who they are not, show anti-social, rebellious, and indecisive behavior and lack of generosity (Marigold et al., 2014).

Demographics

In relation to age, young adolescents have been observed to have lower self-esteem levels compared to the elderly. In relation to gender, females, especially the young females, tend to have lower self-esteem as compared to the male. In relation to ethnicity and race, African Americans have been observed to have lower self-esteem as compared to Asian Americans while Whites and Hispanics were observed to have almost similar levels (Burger, 2011)

The Humanistic Approach

The humanistic approach came to place after the emergence of the Freudian concept and the behavioral theory. The Freudian concept inclined itself to the view that man is always a victim of unconscious sexual as well as aggressive instincts that the two in most cases influence our behavior. On the other side, the behaviorist views humans as little more than complex rats (Burger, 2011). Rats are conditioned to respond to stimuli in their living environment which they are able to control. This means that we should act the way we do just because of the situation at hand and not due to personal choice or decision.

These two theories received opposition from many psychologists due to the fact that important aspects of human personality such as free will and human dignity were missing. Due to these concerns, the third force was born which propagated for the humanistic approach. The major difference between the humanistic approach and the other two personality theories is that people are regarded as being largely responsible for their actions and that although humans tend to make some impromptu decisions motivated by their current situations, they still have the power to determine or destroy their own destiny (Burger, 2011). Fortunately, we have four elements that are central to the humanistic approach. These are:-

Personality responsibility

It is the most fundamental element because it is ultimately the responsibility of a person to determine what do or not to do. Humanistic psychologists insist that the behavior of man represent the private choices he makes of what he wants to do at a particular moment (Marigold et al., 2014). Human beings actively shape their lives and the freedom to change is limited only by physical constraints. It is for human beings to accept that they have the power to do whatever they want to do regardless of the views and perceptions of other people.

The here and now

Is the perspective whereby human beings tend to think more about what happened in the past and not what is currently taking place. For example a person might have experienced an embarrassing situation; the student keeps remembering and feeling bad about the incident. Another experience is when a person has planned to undertake a certain task but fails to complete it and keeps feeling bad about this failure. It is advisable to forget about the past and actually incline the mind on what is currently happening in the present (Burger, 2011).

You know yourself best

The humanistic approach also believes that no one knows an individual better than himself. Humanistic psychologists are of the view that it is absurd for therapists to listen to patients and decide what problems has based on the therapists’ own interpretation of the patient. Humanistic therapists understand where their patients are coming from and can only assist them by providing what they need. If it is difficult for a patient to understand his or her own problem, the therapist can assist in identifying the problem but will ultimately allow the patient to make a personal decision on how to solve the problem.

The Fully Functioning Person

According to Carl Rogers, a fully functioning person is one who naturally strives to get to an optimal sense of satisfaction with their lives (Cloninger & Svrakic, 2016). Carl Rogers further claimed that fully functioning people are open to their experiences. For example, a fully functioning person would seek help from other people and figure out how to prevent this problem from occurring again whenever they face a problem rather than keeping it to themselves (Cloninger & Svrakic, 2016). They view every shortcoming in life as a potential challenge hence ready to overcome them. Fully functioning people are also not easily swayed by roles or experiences from other social interactions. They do what they believe is right and do not do things just to impress others. They are also composed and know how to express themselves when they are angered Due to such actions, such people experience greater wellbeing in their actions and moments (Burger, 2011)

Self-Concept

This is our inner personality which aids in determining the dos and do not’s in a person’s life depending on his individual mode of analyzing and determining tasks. It is an understanding that a person has of himself on the basis of his body image, personal experience, personal thoughts, and how he labels himself in different situations. Self-concept is built upon the perception of a person, how he perceives himself on the basis of the knowledge he has gained over his life experience. Decisions made are influenced by how experienced a person is and how well he or she interprets decisions. According to Rogers (1959), people tend to feel experienced and behave in ways that reflect their ideal self.

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

Maslow’s hierarchy of needs is a motivational theory in psychology that is made up of a five-tier model of human needs. The needs include physiological, safety, love and belonging, esteem, and self-actualization. These needs are often depicted as hierarchical levels that fall within a pyramid (McLeod, 2017). Maslow stated that people are motivated to achieve certain needs and that some needs take priority over others. The most basic need for a person is for physical survival. This also happens to be the first thing that motivates behavior. Once that level is fulfilled, people always strive to get to the next level. Every person has the ability and desires to move up the hierarchy to get to the self-actualization level.

Unfortunately, progress is often disrupted by failing to meet the needs that are found at the lower levels. Life experiences, including divorce and loss of a job, may cause an individual to fluctuate between levels of the hierarchy. Therefore, not everyone will move through the hierarchy in a uni-directional manner but may move back and forth between the different types of needs (McLeod, 2017).

How to Treat the Disorder

Humanistic psychotherapy focuses on the individual nature of a person, rather than categorizing groups of people with similar characteristics as having similar problems. As noted earlier, this process does not focus on how a therapist wants the client to do but allows the individuals to observe their behavior. People with low self-esteem highly benefit from this process due to its unique nature unlike the kinds of therapy. The humanistic therapist provides an atmosphere of support, empathy, and trust that allows an individual to share his or her feelings without fear of judgment (Kirk, 2015).

Therapists have to create a proper relationship with their clients because it will be easier for the therapist to understand the true feelings of the client. This will enable him to be able to guide the client in the best way possible as he makes steps towards recovery from the low self-esteem problem. Having psychotherapy sessions has been observed to address issues related to low self-esteem and assist the affected to develop a stronger sense of self (Kirk, 2015). Such sessions help the affected people to find a sense of accomplishment which serves as a huge boost to low self-esteem. Therapists achieve this by assisting people to identify the specific activities that are likely to help them boost competence and confidence. They should also be helped to develop self-compassion for them to develop goals that are more realistic and achievable for themselves (Schneider, Pierson, and Bugental, 2015).

The therapy sessions help patients to develop the desire for change in their current emotions, thinking, and behavior while at the same time undermine and seek alternatives to the existing dysfunctional beliefs and assumptions about the self. The sessions help the patients in understanding what makes them have such lows. Therapists in most cases come up with suggestions of the activities that patients can engage in to boost their self-esteem and this varies from patient to patient. Some of the activities include practicing positive self-talk, setting realistic goals and emphasize on the positive aspects in their lives, engaging with social support networks such as friends and family, and giving back and contributing something to the community. Therapy or counseling sessions form an integral piece in helping patients identify their issues and start to implement changes.

References

Burger, J. M. (2011). Personality. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Publishing

Cloninger, C. R., & Svrakic, D. M. (2016). Personality disorders. In The medical basis of psychiatry (pp. 537-550). Springer New York.

Schneider, K. J., Pierson, J. F., & Bugental, J. F. T. . (2015) The Handbook of Humanistic Psychology: Theory, Research and Practice. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

Schwartz, M. (2013). Low self-esteem: A missed diagnosis. Retrieved November 5, 2017, from https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/shift-mind/201307/low-self-esteem-missed-diagnosis

Marigold, D. C., Cavallo, J. V., Holmes, J. G., & Wood, J. V. (2014). You can’t always give what you want: The challenge of providing social support to low self-esteem individuals. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 107(1), 56.

McLeod, S. (2017). Maslow’s Hherarchy of needs. Retrieved November 5, 2017, from https://www.simplypsychology.org/maslow.html