Low self esteem

Low self esteem means the lack of confidence of a person to do something.

In psychology, it reflects the overall

appraisal of a person in his or her own worth.

When they recieve negative feedback, people

with low self-esteem often take it personally, and can be devastated by it. This damage can be

much more severe if the feedback is harsh or

directly criticizes the individual's worth, moral character, achievements, etc.

Individuals with low self-esteem are very critical of themselves and depend on the approval and praise of others for their own evaluation of self-worthiness.

They believe that a person's approval of them is dependent on their performance, whether it be academic, relationship, etc. People with low self-esteem view their likeability in terms of successes: others will accept them if they succeed but will not if they fail.

Unhappy childhood where parents (or other significant people such as teachers) were extremely critical

Poor academic performance in school resulting in a lack of

confidence

Ongoing stressful life event such as relationship breakdown or financial trouble

Poor treatment from a partner, parent or carer, for example, being in an abusive relationship

Ongoing medical problems such as chronic pain, serious illness or physical disability

People who were abused as children (physical beating or

sexual abuse) are more

likely to suffer low self esteem as adults.

They have learned that

they are of little value in themselves or just an object to be used.

Low self esteem is an imbalance of the id and superego desires. In the basic sense, the id would seek with all costs to obtain self esteem: stealing to acquire material possessions, cheating on a test to receive a high grade, or hurting another for their

own benefit. In stark contrast, the superego would

find more moral means to achieving postive selfesteem.

In consequence then, the ego must reason or

find a balance between the two, the id and the

superego, find a congruent path. However, in the cases when the ego regulates for these two

desires, but is unable to motivate the individual

into behaving toward the fullfillment of the goals, the person begins to feel lower selfesteem.