Self-Esteem

Self-esteem issues often start begin early in life, when individuals rely very much on the views and opinions of others in order to make decisions on how they feel about themselves.  If those around the individual are critical, unsupportive or abusive, this can lead to problems with self esteem in later life.  The individual will believe and take to heart the criticisms, and often continue to inflict the negative views and thought patterns upon themselves. 

This cycle of thinking inevitable makes matters worse.  Breaking the pattern takes time and effort, but it can be achieved with the right kind of support and intervention from a therapist.  Individuals are able to learn how to ‘intercept’ the negative thought patterns and replace them with more accurate and useful ones.