Counselling Psychologist Aisling Prendergast MSc MBACP (reg.) speaks to A&E during the Mental Health Awareness month to provide some advice on dealing with low self-esteem.
The LightHouse Arabia shares words of wisdom with A&E
Throughout the month of May, A&E is teaming up with LightHouse Arabia – the Dubai-based community mental health and wellness clinic – to offer up advice and tips for dealing with the mental health issues many people face at some point in their life, if not regularly.
And this week, Counselling Psychologist Aisling Prendergast talks through her advice on dealing with and overcoming moments of low self-esteem – something so many of suffer from either on occasion or regularly.
Tips for Overcoming Low Self-Esteem
Check in with the areas of your life that make you feel good about yourself
It can be useful to do this visually. Draw a pie chart with all the areas of your life that are positive or that you enjoy, think about how much of the pie chart you currently give to each. Think about ways that you can make these sections even bigger.
Build on positive experiences
Once you have identified relationships, activities or hobbies that you enjoy doing, do more of these. Build a list of these experiences that you can try out when you’re having a tough day. These could include things like, spending time with friends who boost you, doing kind acts for others or learning a new skill.
Challenge your inner critic
Everybody can experience a harsh and bullying inner voice at times but that doesn’t mean that we have to believe it. When you notice your inner critic picking up, write these thoughts on a piece of paper. Then, imagine somebody who really cares about you and how they would challenge what that bully says. Repeat these kind words to yourself at least five times.
Practice self-care
There are so many ways that we can take care of yourselves. Take care of yourself by nourishing your body with wholesome food and make sure you get enough of it! Get enough sleep and downtime. Practice saying mantras to yourself that are caring such as; ‘patience’, ‘flexibility’ or ‘compassion’.
Think about accepting you!
We can spend a lot of time comparing ourselves to others and finding all our faults as a result. This is a pointless exercise as there is nothing to compare. Every person is completely unique and individual, thankfully- otherwise the world would be a boring place. Embrace your individuality and unique quirks, we all have them!
Head to lighthousearabia.com for more information on its services.
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READ: Wellness Wednesday: Tips For Tackling Everyday Stress and Burnout from LightHouse Arabia
