MIND
Hot and self-esteemy
What is low self-esteem doing to your relationships? WORDS: Lucy Sanderson
Your self-esteem is basically your overall opinion of yourself – and if that little inner faith in yourself isn’t on the up, then it’s likely that your relationships will be taking as much of a knock as your confidence. Having low self-esteem is a burden in any summation; but it is especially bad news when it comes to whom you attract and how you are when you’re in a relationship. If you can’t see your own worth, then how can your partner? Low self-esteem means seeing yourself as unworthy, unlovable or simply inadequate. These beliefs create negative self-talk, that inner critic can be a hard task master at the best of times, but when you suffer from low self-esteem, the inner critic can really beat you down. Having low self-esteem can make you test or sabotage relationships that have potential, or may make you settle
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for relationships in which you’re treated in a way that matches your low beliefs about yourself. That said, low self-esteem doesn’t always translate in the same way – sometimes you may find yourself seeking out a partner to ‘complete you’ this is a massive no, no and although it may not manifest as a negative at first, it will come to light eventually. Sometimes, low self-esteem will manifest as needy, possessive, promiscuous, demanding…