What to Do When Feeling Low

Do you ever feel yourself feeling really low and having low self-esteem often? Have you ever felt unable to connect with people around you due to differences that you might experience? Have you been able to identify why you are feeling that way? Low-self esteem can manifest from many ventures in our lives, including experiences in our childhood, abuse, ill health, negative life events, disturbances in relationships, and of course many other aspects. When we are feeling low about ourselves or the situations around us, it can affect us emotionally in many ways. When feeling this way, we tend to look at the world in a negative outlook and we feel powerless about everything around us, and we tend to bring others in our lives down too. Sometimes we are unable to stop the negative feelings and just continue spiraling down.

So when we are feeling so low, how do we boost ourselves up? Utilizing coping skills is very helpful if you have a toolkit of ones to use.

1. Exercise can be very helpful if you are feeling negative about yourself. Taking a quick brisk walk can help elevate your mood and makes you feel better about yourself. Professionals state going exercising at least 3 times a week and get a small sweat can be helpful.
2. Eating healthy and having a balanced diet can boost moods. Many foods are good for our mind, which can help us. Make sure you do not eat in front of the TV and allow yourself to enjoy your meal.
3. Reducing stress is difficult for many of us as we are always on the go. Allowing a moment to ourselves to relax and think about the day and what we want for ourselves.
4. Doing things you enjoy will boost your mood. Finding things that you enjoy doing. It could be reading or being artistic, or traveling, or watching tv. Just find something that you enjoy doing will change your mindset on how you view things in life.
5. Think positively about yourself. There is no better way to say this. Make a list of positive things about yourself, say positive affirmations out loud. You only get one you, so treat yourself right. Every morning and night say something positive about yourself. Ask yourself (and people around you) what made them smile today or what made them happy today. Doing this daily will drastically change your outlook on life boost your energy.
6. Cut out negative people. Negative people have nothing on us, and they just bring us down. No one wants to be around a Negative Nancy, so why do you even need them in your life. Go through your personal life and do a delete on people that are not supportive of you..
7. Accepting compliments is difficult for some of us to actually adhere to. When people say good things about us, we tend to shy away and not essentially appreciate what they are saying. Really embrace those compliments and take them with you. Be thankful for receiving the compliment too.
8. Meditation. Meditation can be difficult since we are living in a high technology world, but really disconnecting from technology and allowing ourselves some time to be in our own thoughts and mind can be helpful. Some people are able to do breathing exercises independently, and some might need some guidance. Guided meditation is beneficial and can help you relax. Even counting a few breaths in and out will help you relax.

Also, of course, speaking to a mental health professional is very important. We have many skilled therapists to help you build more coping skills and identify the roots of your low-self esteem. Feel free to reach out to any of our therapists if you feel like you are not being yourself and need support.