Communications officer encourages positivity
People with low self-esteem will generally feel less joyful, involved, and connected with their daily lives, especially with the people surrounding them.
In light of several challenges that residents are faced with daily, communications officer of Amanzimtoti SAPS, Captain Charlene van der Spuy, urges residents to be positive. She encourages residents to have good self esteem.
“Self-esteem can be described as how one perceives, feels and sees himself or herself and their overall general abilities. A distinction is usually made between high and low self-esteem. Individuals with low self-esteem usually have a deep-seated, negative belief about themselves and the kind of person they think they are. These beliefs are often taken as facts or truths about their identity, rather than being recognised as just opinions,” said Van der Spuy.
She said that people with low self-esteem will generally feel less joyful, involved, and connected with their daily lives, especially with the people surrounding them.
“They will often feel unfulfilled in their jobs, experience a higher incidence of physical illness, and may even suffer from depression or anxiety. If this describes you, remember you are definitely not alone. Take comfort in the fact that raising your self-esteem is actually a very simple process. By taking small steps daily and making a minor shift in your pattern of thought, you can truly learn to love yourself in a healthy, more constructive way.”
She encourages residents to learn to love themselves again.
“An unfortunate side effect of low self-esteem is that you have stopped being kind to yourself. You do not do nice things for yourself, and you may even go so far as to demand more from yourself than is really necessary. Pushing yourself to be a better person, can be a healthy habit because it encourages you to grow beyond your own perceived limits. However, it is not healthy if you are doing it in a negative way, for instance, self-criticising, overworking or even punishing yourself. To reverse negative habits like these in order to raise your self-esteem, you need to make a strong effort to love and value yourself. Not only when you feel you ‘deserve it,’ but all the time, from this moment on.”
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