What You Need to Know About Self-Esteem and Your Health
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A low sense of self-esteem can damage you in more ways than one. Did you know that it can lead to numerous health problems, both physical and emotional? Here are seven serious health issues that can result from not having a sound sense of self-worth.1. Anxiety: If you have a poor opinion of yourself, you’re not like to have any confidence in yourself either. For such people, unfamiliar or uncomfortable circumstances can result in an anxiety attack.
2. Stress: We all deal with stress in our lives, but for a person with a poor self-image it can be crushing. They won’t be prone to dealing with their stress, which can cause even more tension and worry. Stress is often a precursor of heart disease.
3. Depression: People with low self-esteem frequently suffer from depression. Feeling worthless can cause you to alienate yourself from your family and friends. And this isolation from those you love will add fuel to your negative self-image, and soon you’ll feel depressed. In severe instances, some people consider suicide.
4. Alcohol Abuse: Others look to the comfort of alcohol to blot out their troubles and boost their confidence. Booze becomes their best friend because it gives them a false sense of self-worth that they don’t have to work for. Alcohol loosens inhibitions and makes them daring. Of course alcohol is highly addictive and will take its toll on your health. Alcohol abuse is associated with liver disease, heart problems and cancer.
5. Addictions: Another way people try to prop up a poor self-image is by abusing drugs, either prescribed or illegal. The temporary high takes away their problems and worries for a while. However, the consequences of long term drug addiction are well known, and they’re likely to end up dead if they don’t deal with their issues.
6. Weight Gain: People with low self-esteem often try to fill that empty feeling by overeating. This almost always leads to weight gain, sometimes to the point of obesity. Excessive weight gain is associated with heart disease, diabetes and numerous other ailments.
7. Weight Loss: On the other hand, some people with self-esteem issues become preoccupied with what they perceive as their imperfect bodies. They develop eating disorders such as bulimia or anorexia in their quest for the ideal body. But regardless of how they waste away, they are never satisfied with the outcome, and sooner or later they will become severely ill.
These are some of the more serious issues that can result from low self-esteem. So if you or someone you know is dealing with this problem, it’s important to get help and learn how to value yourself. Otherwise, in the long run, you might be facing these health problems, or worse.
