Confidence and self-esteem

Your self-esteem is how you think and feel about yourself. It can affect how much you:

• Like and value yourself as a person

• Believe in yourself and the things you can do

• Stand up for yourself when under pressure

• Are willing to try new or difficult things

• Move on from mistakes without blaming yourself unfairly

• Believe you matter and are good enough

• Believe you deserve happiness

Confidence is about:

• Believing in yourself, your abilities and ideas

• Understanding and accepting yourself for who you are

Confidence doesn't mean being outgoing. You can be quiet or shy and still be confident. Even when someone is the loudest person in the room, that doesn't mean that they are feeling the most confident on the inside.

Negative experiences can lower your confidence and self-esteem, like going through a breakup or being teased. Positive experiences can boost your confidence and self-esteem, like being complimented or doing well on a test. What affects your confidence and self-esteem can be different for different people and these experiences might affect our confidence/ self-esteem positively or negatively.

Building your confidence and self-esteem can take time and practice. There are many things you can do to improve how you feel about yourself and your abilities.

It might feel like a big step but you can try until you find what works for you:

• Be kind to yourself

• Look after yourself

• Focus on the positives

• Spend time with people

• Learn to assert yourself

• Do things you enjoy

• Act confident when you don't feel it

• Try something new

If you are worried about how you are feeling, or your low confidence or self-esteem is affecting your relationships and everyday life, it is okay to ask for help. You could:

• Read up on more information about understanding your feelings

• Try talking to a trusted adult or a counsellor

• Talk to a professional if you have been feeling like this for a while