February is International Boost Self-Esteem Month which explains the Love Your Body Fair and Victoria’s Secret’s PINK visit to the UA mall. With the pressure of today’s society for women to be thin and beautiful, have an endless resume and a loving boyfriend…basically be the “It-girl”, there’s no wonder why so many women have low self-esteem. February is the time women are still trying to lose the holiday weight, when “singles awareness day” is, midterms are popping up and Spring Break is right around the corner so it’s even more pressure to have an incredible body (but we’re scarfing down sweets to discard stress). Despite the pressures that emotionally control us every minute of every day, we’re all unique and beautiful in our own way so what good are we doing by trying to live up to everyone’s expectations except ours? Take a break from the world and build your self-esteem back up by loving yourself!
“Many people base their self-esteem on external factors, such as how much money they earn, how much they weigh and whether people like and appreciate them,” according to Lynn Ponton, MD, columnist for psychcentral.com.
Don’t be a “hater”, be happy for others’ success because you’ve got great things going for you in your life as well. Being genuinely happy for someone else shows you have high self-esteem because you don’t feel like everyone around you is a threat. When you achieve great things, it doesn’t feel good if other people aren’t happy for you. They deserve their success (hopefully) and so do you so slap a smile on and congratulate them!
“Being at peace with who you are and what you have to offer the world is a major part of having high self-esteem. This “inner peace” does not mean that you are unaware of your weaknesses; it merely means that you accept who you are and genuinely like the person you have become,” states Ponton.
You deserve to be happy for yourself. Focus on you. Focusing too much on others only takes you deeper into the “pitfall”. Try taking up Pilates! It’s a great way to focus your energy on yourself while releasing the bad energy. Pilates creates a balanced body and mind.
Dress up! It’s true when they say, “When you look good, you feel good.” No one ever said, “I’m in my most comfy sweats and I feel like hot stuff!” When you’re flaunting your favorite pumps, you’ve got that powerful strut because you know you look good, when your jeans make your butt and thighs look amazing you’ve got your chin up and when you have a playfully patterned top on you smile and laugh more! It almost gives us the same estrogen boost we get after a hard workout. So don’t set yourself up to feel gloomy, get up and dress up to wake up ready for a fresh start!
Low self-esteem doesn’t only affect how you look at yourself in the mirror, it can also lead to depression and/or anxiety. “If your emotions feel overpowering or out of control, one way to build self-esteem around this issue is to learn to manage your mood and gain control over your feelings,” explains Ponton. Many women also talk to close friends and family or a therapist about these kinds of issues. There are many psychiatrists at the U of A’s Campus Health that would be more than welcome to listen.
Being comfortable in our skin is the best thing we can do for our self-esteem. If we’re not happy with ourselves, who is? People can feel negative vibes and if we always want to be someone else or change something about who we are, they’ll avoid us because it’ll rub off on the people we talk to. Be the best you can be and people will notice, especially yourself!