subject: Work on Depression Problems and Build Self-Esteem through These Three Steps [print this page] If you're struggling with depression and have low self-esteem, you know that it can sometimes get in the way of opportunities. Perhaps you've messed up a job interview, forgot the answer to a question, and were a failure in spite of the fact you knew you were perfect for the job.
Or, perhaps you struggle with conversing with someone you're attracted to, blowing the opportunity to let them get to know the "real you" by stumbling instead.
When you build self-esteem and know how to work on your depression problems, this can help you significantly with personal growth. That's because having high self-confidence and a good outlook on life will make life itself much more pleasant and much easier.
To work on your depression problems and to make sure that you can take care of this problem so that you can take advantage of opportunities as they come, here are three things you can do to build self-esteem.
Number One: Remember that your own counsel is always best
Do you know the saying, "First, seek your own counsel"? What that means is that your opinion about yourself should always matter more than what others think of you. Relying too much on others' opinions not only worsens depression problems and self-esteem problems because you're not developing self-reliance, but it also can be detrimental simply because you may lose your will to do something when someone tells you they don't think you'll be able to. Therefore, to build self-confidence and alleviate depression problems, quit thinking so much about what others think of you. There will always be people who disapprove of you and try to break you down. The difference between those with depression problems and self-esteem problems and those who don't have them is that for those who are confident, their own opinion matters to them more than anybody else's does. (Of course, if you're suffering from depression problems, there can be chemical or physical reasons for this as well, and you may want to seek professional help in addition to pursuing self-help options.)
TIP: Take note of how often you let others and outside circumstances affect your confidence and mood. Keep track of this; if you find yourself feeling depressed and at the whim of others' moods too much, you can also take steps to protect yourself from this so that you take back your own power.
Number Two: Have a purpose in mind
Once you have a definite purpose in mind, this is something you can focus your energy on; this will help alleviate depression problems and build your self-esteem so that you are better equipped to handle problems as they arise. When you have a purpose, you can also develop the character trait of decisiveness, which in turn helps build confidence. Very likely, you know people who are insecure, and you know that one of their problems is that they probably don't know what they want. However, if you have a definite purpose and you know what you want, it's a lot easier. That's not to say, by the way, that finding a purpose is going to be easy. Turn off the "noise" that comes from others first, though, and you can focus on finding your purpose. Keep your own counsel, and soon you'll see that finding and focusing on that purpose is much easier.
Number Three: Work on changing your inner dialogue
How do you talk to yourself? Chances are, part of your depression problems and lack of self-confidence comes from the fact that you often berate yourself. When you use positive affirmations to change how you talk to yourself so that your dialogue is positive, you are going to start building self-esteem and you're going to begin to take care of your depression problems, too. When you work on developing your affirmations, focus on creating them in a way that is positive and uplifting, much like you would talk to someone else if you wanted to help them alleviate their depression problems or boost their self-confidence.
Write down the answers you get when you ask yourself how you would talk to someone else, and then write affirmations based on that; say them out loud to yourself every day. Do it twice a day, once in the morning, and once at night. For even better results, look at yourself in the mirror as you do it, right in the "eye."
Work on Depression Problems and Build Self-Esteem through These Three Steps
