Having low self-esteem is due to the opinion we have of ourselves, how we see ourselves and what we think of ourselves. What we think of ourselves may not always be positive, in this case, it can affect our emotional health, behavior and even the way we relate to other people.
There are many things that can influence us to have a low self-esteem, for example, that others have a negative opinion about us, but this is not all. Although it may not seem like it, many times we have behaviors that negatively affect our self-esteem, but maybe we are not aware of it. This is known in psychology as self-frustrating behaviors.
There are a series of symptoms that will help us know if we have low self-esteem or not. Below we explain them, you should read them carefully to know if you feel identified with them.
8 symptoms to know if you have low self-esteem:
You compare yourself with others: it is something inevitable, you tend to compare yourself with other people all the time. Whether they are friends, family, co-workers, people you consider your references or those you admire… You often spend several hours comparing their lives to yours, you may even check their profile on their social networks to compare their life to yours.
You doubt your abilities: every time you set a new goal or objective, you doubt whether you will be able to achieve it. You think that you will give up halfway through or that you will have some problem that will prevent you from continuing.
You have a tendency to be defensive: if you have low self-esteem, your behavior is likely to be fussy and belligerent. Believing that you are not worth much, you will feel at war with the world and your reactions will be negative. At the slightest chance that something happens, you will create conflict.
You see things as more complicated than they really are: every time you have a plan, you will think that a problem may arise and that you will not be able to overcome it.
You are aware of your negative points: by consciously evaluating yourself and always looking at the worst and negative aspects of your person, you leave the positive aspects aside and surely if you were asked, you would not know how to mention them.
You have rigid and fundamentalist ideas: if you have low self-esteem you will tend to be part of a group that makes sense of your personal worth. These groups usually have very strong political ideologies or religious beliefs, which they will defend at all costs. This will give you a sense of power that will fill the void of low self-esteem. However, it will also make you have an opinion that is not your own, cloud your judgment and you will end up thinking like the rest of the group.
You are distrustful: feeling inferior to others, you will want to balance this feeling by downplaying their capabilities, disqualifying their achievements, doubting their prestige, etc. The best way to feel at the level of others is to bring them down to your level.
You are jealous: perhaps you tend to see others as a competition, a threat. You are also very possessive, you will need to control everything and you will be jealous of them, because you feel that you can lose them and you look for any way to keep them by your side.
If you feel identified with any of these behaviors, you probably have low self-esteem and need to find a solution to change the situation. As you have seen, many times we have behaviors that make us feel this way without realizing it. The best thing in these cases is to have the help of a specialist who can give us a series of guidelines to put them into practice so that we can have a better self-esteem.