Self-Esteem

What do you think of a person who always speaks well of others? Does she have high or low self-esteem? You could argue that in order to speak well of others, one must think highly enough of oneself not to be threatened by other people’s excellence. Such a person could be thought to enjoy healthy … Read more

Even though there’s a lot of talk about how entitled young people are these days, I see a lack of entitlement among all age groups in my practice as a therapist. I see people putting up with pretty poor behavior from people they love, without uttering a word of protest. Or, if they do protest, … Read more

After last week’s post on name-calling and how it ruins your self-esteem (and possibly other people’s as well), a reader called Multnoma left the following comment:  Ok. I get that I am holding myself back by calling names. Even if only in my head. Or under my breath. But it’s only another item on the … Read more

We can be so mean to ourselves. “Who do you think you are?” “Well, THAT was dumb.” “Just shut up right now; you’re making a fool of yourself.” And on and on. Why do we do this to ourselves? It’s learned behavior. No one comes out of the womb thinking, “Geez, I’m such a pathetic … Read more