Self-confidence is a person’s belief in his abilities: in the success of his actions, in the nature of his decisions or in the way he chooses to go. Self-confidence is one of the key components of self-esteem, which includes what the person thinks about himself and his personal abilities.
It is part of his image, which reflects his inner state, and is expressed in the body language, the tone of speech and the energy he radiates.
Self-confidence is important on many levels in our lives. Starting with kindergarten and school age, and ending with the workplace or queuing at the clinic. Everywhere we go, the image we present is the first thing people experience of us and is perceived in their consciousness.
Our level of self-confidence is heavy and it may determine if we will have friends and how many, what role we will get in the military and in what profession we will work. An insecure person, may let others “step on” him and allow them to move forward at his own expense or give up on himself and not stand by his principles.
So in our daily lives self-confidence is of great importance and crucial in a wide variety of areas.
It is often noticed that low self-esteem accompanies attention deficit disorder. Failures and failures often lead to low self-esteem, in children and adults alike. The person blames himself for his inability to meet the task and feels inferior in relation to those around him. Not every person with low self-esteem has an attention deficit disorder, but this certainly leads to more difficult coping with the demands at any age and sometimes frustration due to failure leads to low self-esteem.
Self-image is the gap between who I would like to be and who I am in reality. The image develops and is built based on the successes and failures that the person experiences at different stages in his life. Next, our self-image affects how we conduct ourselves in the world. So, in fact, it is a “vicious circle” based on our pool of personal experiences. This can be seen in the following diagram:
One of the characteristics of people with low self-esteem, is hopelessness and despair. They believe that the situation is not going to change and at times, this belief functions as a self-fulfilling prophecy and acts in a negative way.
Adults and children with ADD / ADHD experience many failures from an early age, so there is a high chance that they will develop a low self-esteem.
The reactions of the environment around them also contribute to this image, as they are considered disruptive, forgetful, unsuccessful – and this behavior outweighs their other traits. Sometimes, they also need close help or mediation and have difficulty internalizing restrained and desirable behavior. Until recent years, awareness of attention deficit disorders was very low, so such children did not receive appropriate treatment and became adults with ADD / ADHD, who tried to adapt to different ways of coping.
The answer to this question depends very much on the environment in which the child grew up. Studies show that the environment has a very big impact on self-image. A supportive and encouraging environment will help the child build a positive and even high self-esteem, even in the case where the child has ADD / ADHD. In contrast, a teasing environment, which is intolerant and empathetic, will do just the opposite and contribute to shaping a low and poor self-image.
Fortunately, there are symptoms by which low self-esteem can be identified and this is a condition that can be treated. Some of the signs of this are behavioral, which prolonged viewing may be enough to absorb, but some seem to be indirect expressions that imply low self-esteem. Children and adults develop strategies and mechanisms for dealing with the feeling that self-image leaves them, but have no benefit in them, on the contrary, they preserve the image and prevent possible change. Here are some examples of these expressions:
דימוי עצמי נמוך אינו גזירה משמיים, ובהחלט ניתן לטפל בו ולשפר אותו מאוד. בשלב הראשון, חשוב להכיר בכך שישנה בעיה. במידה ומדובר בילדים, הרי שנושא זה באחריות ההורים. תמיד רצוי לפנות לאנשי מקצוע בתחום ולקבל חוות דעת נוספת וייעוץ.
Self-worth is a topic in the psychological field of great importance, due to its weight in shaping adult life. During the treatment, the patient should be surrounded in a stable and safe environment, in order to allow him to break away from the coping strategy he has developed, and to rebuild his self-image. This process is lengthy and is accompanied by many experiences of the patient, the purpose of which is to help him develop new and effective coping mechanisms, while accumulating a pool of positive experiences that reflect success. The patient will strengthen the ability to emotionally regulate and develop new relationships with the environment and as a result, will be able to be optimistic about his future and successes, without fear of facing challenges.
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