Your self-esteem determines your success in life!

Ingrid Ortiz-Vazquez, MS
Glorymar Rosario-Vicente, MS

What is self-esteem?
Self-esteem is the belief that a person has of itself, which allows to
feel safe, valuable and worthy of respect. The self-esteem can impact
our general well-being, depending on whether it is at a high or low level.
A person with high self-esteem presents healthy thoughts about life and can be characterized by:
* Having self-confidence to talk to unknown people or
in front of an audience.
*Having a positive attitude towards life and, especially, towards problems.
*Making decisions without waiting for the approval of others.
* Accepting yourself regardless of the opinions of others.
* Avoid being manipulated.
*Being nice.
*Striving to achieve goals.
*Having the strength to express your emotions and feelings without
shame.
* Setting healthy limits.
Low self-esteem comes in the form of shame and self-doubt and
may be related to factors such as age, body type, gender,
mental health, race/ethnicity, socioeconomic status, and sexual or gender complexes.

Some ofthe features presented are:

* Fear of rejection.* Having a bad attitude towards yourself and life.
*Getting carried away by what others think.
*Comparing oneself with others.
*Having difficulty accepting oneself.
* Being manipulated by others.
* Having difficulty taking risks or setting goals because of the fear of
failure.
* Being less empathetic.
* Getting discouraged easily when facing the different situations that arise in life.
* Being ashamed and afraid to express emotions and feelings.
*Having difficulty setting healthy boundaries.

How to improve self-esteem?
The best ways to improve self-esteem are:
(1) Recognizing the need for help.
(2) Requesting services from mental health professionals
to receive tools and strategies that allow working together to increase
self-esteem levels. This process can take time and requires
a lot of patience and commitment to one’s well-being, since it is usual to seek attention to improve the self-perception as well as how one perceives the surroundings.

If you need help, there are people willing to provide it, but you have to speak out and ask for help!
Some available resources are:

IN JACKSONVILLE:

Northwest Behavioral Health

IN PUERTO RICO:

ASSMCA

CIMA

Fundación Alas a la Mujer

META

IN MISSOURI:

Compass Health Network (Missouri