Self Esteem Article

If you could count all the moments where you’ve degraded yourself, how big would the sum be? The majority of teenagers face low self-esteem at some point during adolescence, but several aspects of our environment, as well as the media, has gradually increased feelings of low self esteem. What makes this so concerning is the way our youth copes with these feelings.
The uncertainty and lack of confidence among teenagers is, to an extent, a part of growing up. But when it begins to impact the actions or decisions of a student, it becomes more than a phase. Several teachers at J-town have observed how students allow their grades and school performance to suffer, but why? Some may say its laziness, or irresponsibility, but on many occasions, it’s because those students don’t have the confidence to do well. They don’t think they are capable of having nice grades or high test scores; they have lowered their standards in order to match their self-esteem. Once this process begins, that poor self- image can spiral into something much worse. “A lack of confidence can manifest itself in several ways,” Says Mrs. Smith, the school counselor. “I’ve seen students deal with it through self-harm, eating disorders, and even promiscuity. A lot of times, one of the main roots to these problems is their self-esteem. They feel alone in their struggle, and it makes it worse.” My own experiences with self-esteem can correlate to this. I’ve struggled with an eating disorder for several years, and my lack of communication was practically the death of me. Last year my doctor explained that my body was going to shut down. I was thirty pounds underweight, and my heart rate was twenty beats below the minimum amount. The solution to this sounds easy, right? I just had to eat. It sounds simple. Unfortunately, it never is. In order to begin recovery, I had to improve my distorted body image, as well as my self-esteem in general. As my mindset began to improve, I realized that I wasn’t