Self-Esteem
– the values and respect you have for yourself
People with high self-esteem
see things positively, feels good about themselves, deals better with stress and are proud of themselves. People with low self-esteem focus more on negative things and find things about themselves that they do
not like. Self-esteem can be affected by people and events around you. In this lesson, we will first look at one of the things that can affect self-esteem – Peer Pressure. Then we will look at a few impacts of having low self-esteem – Body Image and
Suicide.
Keeping
a Positive Self-Esteem
- Think positive about yourself. Have self-confidence.
- Understand that no one is perfect. You do not have to be
the best at everything.
- Helping others can make you feel good about yourself.
- When you are angry, talk it over with someone.
- Do things you enjoy or pick up a new hobby.
- When you feel down, talk to someone that can help you feel better.
Peer
Pressure
Being a teen falls right
in between childhood and adulthood. You are still deciding whether to make your
own decisions or allowing your parents to do so. You may find yourself in a situation
where you are in a store and you see a beautiful bracelet that costs $20, but you only have $10. Your friend that went to the store with you tells you to steal the bracelet, “You won’t get
caught.” There is the possibility that you won’t get caught because
the store clerk can’t see what you are doing. What do you do?
Many times it
seems easier to do wrong than do right, all you need it that negative influence to convince you. Now suppose you do decide to steal the bracelet and a security guard stops you just before you get out
of the store. Your friend runs off and you are left to deal with this by yourself. Will you regret your decision to steal? Many
people do regret their decision to listen to their friends who convince them to do something wrong over right. Unfortunately, teens are most influenced by their peers.
Your friends, or someone
you know, may try to convince you that smoking a cigarette is the in thing, drinking alcohol won’t hurt you, take this
drug and have fun, having sex is a good way to get a guy or girl’s attention, or it’s ok to steal something because
you won’t get caught. The phrase “Everyone is doing it” is
not true. It is important to understand that you are an individual and don’t
need to do what “everyone” else is doing, especially when you really don’t want to do it. These people will get you into trouble and won’t be around to help you get out of trouble. Not everyone that you call a friend is truly looking out for your best interest.
Peer pressure can be avoided
if you already have a clear understanding of what is right and wrong, and always go with what is right. A good idea is to surround yourself with positive friends and saying “No” to the people that
try to pressure you to do what you feel isn’t right. Your self-confidence
will make you a stronger person and you’ll find it easier to avoid the bad situations.
Body
Image
Am I too big? Am I too thin? Does my shape look funny? People’s concerns about their bodies are based on how they see others. Females think they should be thin and males think they should be muscular. But it is important to remember that everyone is unique. Beauty
is more about inner qualities, like your personality, than physical appearances. When
watching television, we are led to believe that “normal” for women is being a size 0. We are left to believe that anything over that is overweight. Because
of the pressures to look like the people on TV, some go on radical diets or avoid eating at all and can develop Eating Disorders.
Eating disorders can
come from someone feeling pressure to be thin or having a fear of becoming fat. The
different types of eating disorders are:
Anorexia Nervosa –
People with Anorexia starve themselves and try to live off of little or no food for a long time, but feel they still need
to lose weight.
Bulimia
Nervosa – People with Bulimia have no control over their eating and may over eat.
They’ll then try to control their weight by vomiting, using laxatives, diuretics (makes your body lose water),
diet pills or exercise excessively.
Binge-Eating Disorder
– This disorder causes people to overeat, but they will not do anything afterwards to control their weight. These people are often significantly overweight.
There are many dangers
from eating disorders. People with anorexia most often are hospitalized because
they are malnourished. Anorexia can also cause death. Eating disorders can also cause weakness, dehydration, constipation, tooth decay, kidney disease and skin
discoloration.
Suicide
Teens can experience stress
just as adults. Stress and feelings of sadness can come from violence or anger
at home, parents separating or getting a divorce, death of a loved one, struggling at school, having problems with other teens,
a break-up with a girlfriend or boyfriend, or feeling different from everyone else.
When problems like these occur, talk to someone you trust. The problems
you think you can’t deal with cannot be solved by dying. You do need to
know that they will not last forever. Imagine all the good things you’ll
miss out on in the future by trying to escape from the few bad ones.
Suicide is one of the leading
causes of death for teens. Suicide is not the answer to problems and it doesn’t
have to happen. If you or a friend feel suicidal and feel there is no one to
talk to, you are wrong. If there is no one near for you to share your feelings
with, you can write down things that do make you happy or you can call a hotline where people are there ready to help you. Below are two phone numbers to call with feeling suicidal:
1-800-SUICIDE
Boys Town 1-800-545-5771
