Teen Self Esteem
Teen Self Esteem Month
The 1st May sees the start of Teen Self Esteem month, a national awareness project in The United States. There are lots of things I don’t like about America, not least their president and their general ignorance towards the rest of the world, however I believe that when it comes to mental health they seem to be a lot more progressive and accepting compared to other countries including the UK. Self Esteem can easily be forgotten about in the UK as we aren’t as forward as the Americans when it comes to loving ourselves. This sounds like an insult but I don’t think it should be, more people should love themselves.
Self esteem, especially in teenagers, is so important as it allows them to try new things, take healthy risks and solve problems because they believe they can. These then in turn then create a well rounded and confident adult. Someone with low self esteem may not take risks through fear of failure and therefore might never achieve to their full potential. Having low self esteem can really set teenagers back for life, in such an important time in their lives decisions made at secondary school and collage will impact teens lives massively and not having the self confidence to make the decisions that matter can be detrimental to their opportunities. It is currently estimated that 61% of girls in the UK aged 10-17 said they have low self esteem, which is a really miserable figure. Over half of girls aren’t confident in themselves, the vast majority of which is because of the way they look. This is a very popular reason for low self esteem however there are a variety of causes including: unsupportive parents, friends who are bad influences, stressful life events such as divorce and trauma or abuse as well as many more.
It is important to try and sort out self esteem issues early on in life so they can be bucked as an adult to prevent more serious issues. Low self esteem has been liked to self harm, eating disorders, drug abuse or even suicide. As a parent or friend simple things can really make the difference, something as small as being generous with praise can help to boost self confidence. There are also ways you can help your own self confidence, being physically active can improve your outlook on yourself and will release endorphins whilst doing so. Other small things like putting yourself first, saying no to people, celebrating the small things and remembering that nobody is perfect can all add towards a positive mental attitude. So this Teen Self Esteem month make a difference to yourself and others, because it may mean more than you think.
