Trust me, I'm a Doctor.
Self-esteem is important to your health. In fact, it is essential.
Not only does it affect the way you treat your body, but it also provides a sound basis upon which to relate to other people. A healthy self-esteem is the key to good mental health and essential to our well-being.
Wounded identities
I'm convinced that the human spirit only thrives when we are loved, accepted and valued. None of us get this 100%, so we're all a bit wounded under the surface. But we are in real trouble if we let our wounds become our identity. If we take our self-worth from all the unloving and rejecting things that have happened to us, we start to believe we are defective and then we even reject ourselves.
Acting out
This doesn't just stay in our minds, it plays out in our behaviour. Self-loathing thoughts can act out in self-destructive ways. This looks different depending upon the individual.
Some people drink or smoke too much, some take big risks with drugs and sex, some tolerate abusive relationships, some withdraw and become anxious or depressed, some over-eat, some under-eat. Most people I see with weight problems are not greedy or lacking in self-discipline; they are usually struggling with self-dislike, even self-hatred, and over-eating is a form of self-harm.
Every day at work I meet people with painful stories and damaged hearts and I see how they survive. Every one of them would feel better if they felt loved, accepted and valuable.
Written by Doctor M..
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