Anxiety Relief Tips & Strategies

Low self esteem can be easily missed if you’ve already convinced yourself that your self esteem is just fine. I was severely shy as a child and blamed that on how I felt, day after day. It never occurred to me that I had low self esteem.

Then one day my therapist said to me, “You rely too much on other people for your own happiness.”

I was 35 years old at the time, still battling massive anxiety and panic attacks. He wasn’t talking just about my need to have people around me. That was because of my panic disorder. I was afraid to be alone because I didn’t trust myself.

He was talking about my tendency to put everything on my upbringing, on how my parents treated me. I craved approval that was hard to come by. It was hard back then, and it was hard when I became a married adult.

I didn’t know how to “feel good” about who I was unless I received accolades from other people – at work, at home, in social situations.

His next words of wisdom were, “You don’t like yourself very much.”

The link was obvious. I relied on others to let me know I was okay, that I was liked and accepted, and that I was recognized as a valuable person.

Clearly, I had a lot of work to do if I were to ever recover from my anxiety and panic attacks – and get rid of my low self esteem.

After doing some digging, I discovered that to improve low self esteem, it’s necessary to find things about yourself that you do like.

Now, this took a bit of work, but fortunately I still have my school report cards from way back in the 1960s. It was evident where my strengths lie. Going down the list of subjects, I realized that I truly felt good when I worked on certain areas, like English Literature and Art.

How was this knowledge going to help my low self esteem?

Simply by focusing on those talents that I knew I was good at. I began doing some creative writing and a few paintings and sketches. With each piece of work, I could feel my self esteem creep up a little.

It was the start of my recovery from my panic and anxiety disorders and my low self esteem.

Once I was able to pat myself on the back, I required less recognition and approval from other people. Over time and after numerous creative projects, and eventually English classes at my local high school, I noticed a significant improvement in my low self esteem.

Perhaps for the first time in my life, I felt good about who I was. I now was aware of my true talents and I didn’t need anyone to confirm them.

Recently, I began watching soap operas – something I swore I’d never do. But a few years back I got hooked on Guiding Light – one of the top award winning programs. When the show started out 70 years ago, they introduced each episode with a poem about finding your light.

“Finding your light” is the key to your own happiness. Once you find it, you will begin to experience the inner satisfaction and excitement that I now feel. You will know who you are and why you are here.

Tap into your true talents and put them to use. Put your entire mind, body and soul into those talents to make them the absolute best they can be.

Make sure they are talents that give you tremendous personal enjoyment, because to focus on anything else will not work.

Get to work on your low self esteem by looking inside at what makes you glow. Your anxiety and panic, and even depression, will subside.

I recently came across a package that includes several books to help you develop self confidence and find success in life. It’s called Mind Power.