Do you always criticize yourself? Do you feel hopeless and worthless? This is an alarming situation that indicates that you have low self-esteem. With low self-esteem and confidence, you have to face multiple complexities in your life. But no worries as Cognitive behavioral therapy can provide the best solutions to boost confidence and self-esteem. This article provides an in-depth guide to the major CBT techniques that improve the self-esteem of individuals. So read it now!
Self-esteem & CBT
‘’Self-esteem is your way of perception or opinion towards yourself. Low self-esteem and confidence are linked with negative life choices and reduced motivation and interest in multiple areas of life. Cognitive behavioral therapy is an innovative and goal-oriented approach that is beneficial for increasing self-esteem and confidence. With the help of CBT, you can identify and address the major challenges or issues that can decrease your self-esteem. So you stop underestimating yourself and start believing in yourself to get success in life’’.
What is Self-esteem?
Self-esteem is the person’s subjective evaluation of one’s self-value or worth. It is completely distinct from the objective capabilities of the person. Moreover, self-esteem is also characterized by the feelings, beliefs, thoughts, behavior, and attitudes of individuals about themselves. Moreover, self-esteem is directly linked to confidence in oneself and also the way one perceives others. In simple words, what you think about yourself reflects your self-esteem. So it is a major factor that can shape your mental health or overall well-being.
Importance of Self-esteem
If you have high or healthy self-esteem then it typically indicates that you are on the journey of sustained emotional or mental well-being. However, if you have low or negative self-esteem then you can not overcome your life challenges with supreme confidence. Moreover, you never feel or think good about yourself and others and you always feel the shadow of a negative light that restricts you from living a healthy or balanced life. Multiple factors can influence the self-esteem of individuals. Whatever your upbringing environment or what kind of biological or psychological changes you are exposed to directly develop a framework of your self-esteem. Moreover, always remember that self-esteem can change with time. So by implementing the most effective therapeutic strategies such as cognitive behavioral therapy, you can boost your self-esteem.
Top CBT Techniques to Increase Self-esteem
Cognitive behavioral therapy is considered highly effective for improving the self-esteem of individuals. Cognitive behavioral experts’ main goal is to identify the negative thoughts or trigger factors that affect self-esteem. After the complete identification, they guide the individual on how they can transform their negative thoughts into positive ones so they increase their self-esteem and confidence.
Major CBT techniques that can increase self-esteem are as follows:
1. Challenge the negative thoughts
Negative or unhelpful thoughts majorly contribute to low self-esteem. Individuals with reduced self-esteem do not feel anything good about themselves. They have stronger inner critics and their minds are always stuck in exaggerated or distorted thoughts. They always speak negative words to themselves such as, ‘’ I am a failure’’ and ‘’I can’t do anything in my life. Likewise other negative thoughts such as ‘’ People don’t like me’’ or ‘’ I should quit the job’’ also result in low self-esteem.
Experts in cognitive behavioral therapy sessions perform cognitive restructuring to identify the negative thoughts that negatively influence self-esteem and confidence. They provide a guide on how you can control your negative thoughts. When you think that no one loves you then immediately think about your friends or family who love you more than others. Likewise, instead of self-negative talk, say to yourself that ‘’I am capable’’ and ‘’I have all the abilities to achieve anything in my life’’.
Moreover, instead of taking stress over your responsibilities, say to yourself that ‘’ I can handle every task with precision and accuracy and meet the deadlines’’. In addition, write down your negative thoughts and deeply consider them to challenge them effectively. With time, you will learn how you can switch from negative to positive thoughts and increase your self-esteem and confidence.
2. Recognize your thoughts
Always remember that every individual has unique strengths. However low self-esteem can mask your inner potential or strength. Individuals with low self-esteem do not focus on their inner potential or strengths and always develop their minds into negative self-talk or criticism. Cognitive behavioral experts teach individuals to extract their inner absolute potential and only pay attention to them. They guide them to only think about those things they are good at and always remember that not every person is perfect. Each individual has their own personality flaws or traits but only those individuals get success in their life whose main center of attention are their positive traits. Make a schedule of those activities that you really enjoy and spend your time on a regular basis. This will not only boost your mood but also your self-esteem and confidence.
3. Prioritize your self-care
You also deserve your own love. The time when you start avoiding yourself, you start losing your self-esteem and confidence. If you feel that there is anything in yourself that you want to change in yourself then don’t just think but start working on that. Adopt some positive strategies to alter the things that you actually want to do. For example, if you most often feel bored or do not find pleasure in anything then get some time for yourself. Go outside with your friends in your free time and enjoy your life. Moreover, you can also add something to your diet schedule that is healthy and also develop your interest in your diet. After that when you feel that you are doing best in your life then give some reward to yourself to increase your confidence and self-esteem. The more you start taking care of yourself, the more you will see the rising graph of your self-esteem and inner capabilities.
4. Set your goals
Individuals who have lower self-esteem and self-confidence always feel afraid before doing anything. For example, some individuals feel fear in social isolation while some avoid doing new things. Therefore, in cognitive behavioral therapy sessions, experts guide individuals to set some goals in their lives. Start with a small goal and then proceed with major life goals. If you feel fear in social meetings then make a goal of meeting and greeting new people by putting away your fear. Likewise, make a goal to start any new activity in your daily life. By achieving your small life goals, you will regain your confidence and self-esteem. You will feel proud after achieving your life goals and easily look forward to life.
5. Systematic exposure
Individuals who feel fear of multiple situations, objects, or places can get rid of their fear and the stress that results from exposure and response prevention therapy. In cognitive behavioral therapy sessions, experts ask the individuals to list down their fears and then slowly face them. For example, if you feel fear of going out to new places then whenever you get time, make a plan to go out and explore new places. In addition, also expose yourself to objects or situations that make you afraid without showing any response. With time, you will learn to control your fear and stress and ultimately increase your self-esteem and confidence.
6. Mindfulness training
Mindfulness exercises are ideal for living and enjoying the present moments by getting rid of stress. Cognitive experts guide individuals to overcome their stress and fear by improving their thought patterns. Moreover, they also learn to acknowledge their thought patterns by staying in the present moment. This helps them in increasing their confidence and self-esteem.
7. Problem-solving skills
Problem-solving skills assist individuals to actively participate in problem-solving activities by activating their proactive thought pathways. Experts in cognitive therapy sessions train individuals that instead of feeling like victims, consider themselves capable people who can solve all their issues without any mental resilience.
8. Imagery Rescripting
This is also a widely used CBT technique to regain lost confidence and self-esteem. Affected individuals start thinking about their previous life moments that had a major negative impact on their self-esteem and confidence. For example, you might be bullied at your school or college or you might be exposed to a professional or domestic environment that was not suitable for you. So close your eyes, think about those memories for a moment, and say to yourself that you can deal with all life challenges. With positive affirmations, you can increase your self-esteem and confidence.
9. Letter Writing
Letter writing is also a widely recognized CBT intervention or technique that is ideal for elevating confidence and self-esteem. Individuals are instructed to write some letters to themselves in which they mention the most important things about themselves. Write about those things that you don’t like about yourself and also those things that you like but want to improve more. Your main goal is to make some significant improvements in your personality, especially self-esteem and confidence.
10. Journaling
You can also improve your self-esteem by keeping a self-esteem journal. When you wake up early in the morning and start a new day of your life, write down your blessings, achievements, and positive life experiences. Do not mention your criticism, instead of that, focus on the ways to get rid of that or transform them into positive thoughts. When you practice gratitude daily, your brain will adapt to pay more attention to the positive aspects of life. Your gratitude then leads to increased self-esteem and confidence.
11. Physical activity
If your lifestyle is sedentary and you are not involved in any physical activity then you will never feel active, strengthened, and confident to pass all the obstacles of your life. Therefore, try to make a schedule to regularly perform any physical activity so you always feel extra energetic, and confident and have high self-esteem.
12. Behavioral experiments
Behavioral experiments are also the best ways to raise self-esteem. This involves the complete testing or evaluation of negative beliefs that individuals have about themselves. They do this by contributing to any specific action or behavior and then they exhibit the outcomes. In addition, they make efforts to challenge their negative beliefs and gradually start focusing on building their positive self-image. For example, by talking to strangers or unknown people you can check that your assumption that people don’t like you is correct or false. If you experience positive interactions, you start feeling positive changes in your self-esteem and confidence.
Renewed Mental Health Group: Professional support to increase your Self-esteem
If you are battling with any mental illness and looking for the best options to get permanent relief then you are at the best place. Renewed Mental Health Group is a top platform that offers a diverse range of mental health services. We have a team of licensed, trained as well as exceptional mental health experts who are well-versed in evaluating as well as developing the finest therapeutic strategies. Our experts conduct cognitive behavioral therapy sessions in which they provide complete guidance to the individual battling with common mental health issues including anxiety, depression, etc. They help the individual to learn useful strategies to ultimately boost their confidence and self-esteem.
Furthermore, we also consider the ease of those individuals who are unable to join the physical therapy sessions. Therefore, we also provide telehealth services so you can join the cognitive therapy sessions via online modes and get relief from the symptoms of your mental issues. We assure you that with our cognitive behavioral therapy approach, you can get the light to initiate your mental health journey and improve your confidence and self-esteem.
So don’t look around and reach out to our professional mental health experts. Schedule a consultation with our experts and join the CBT sessions to cherish your life with sound mental health.