Anxiety and low self-esteem

People who struggle with anxiety often find themselves struggle with low self-esteem. What are some of the symptoms of anxiety?

Do you experience excessive, intense and persistent worry and fear about the future? Do you have trouble sleeping at night due to worry or fear?

Do you assume the worst-case scenario about everyday issues?

Do you experience any physical symptoms, such as a pounding heart, shortness of breath, sweating, rapid breathing, racing thoughts, restlessness, and panic attacks (sudden feelings of intense fear or terror)?

Do you have an irrational fear to somethings, known as a phobia?

Do you avoid situations that make you feel anxious, which could have negative impact on your relationships and work performance?

Anxiety is our body’s response to a perceived danger or threat. We all experience occasional anxiety. This is a normal part of life, and usually is connected with a particular stressful event and is time limited. However if you experience anxiety symptoms more frequently and intensely with everyday situations, and the symptoms are affecting your quality of life and ability to function; you may want to seek professional help.

Anxiety and self-esteem are closely connected. What we see in the clinical practice is low self-esteem might be one of the root causes of anxiety. People with low self-esteem have poor confidence in their capability and think they are unworthy of love & happiness. They perceive the world as unwelcoming and unsafe. This could lead to them more anxious in stressful situation from a young age, whether it be social situation or exams or job interviews or any situation people perceive as stressful. People might try to avoid those situations to ease anxious feeling, which unfortunately usually lead to even more anxiety provoking experience in life - it really is a vicious cycle. Avoidance doesn’t work and people start to suffer from anxiety and irrational fears. Therefore, improving self-esteem is clinically beneficial and necessary to address anxiety permanently.

My name is Wenjia, as a highly skilled and empathetic therapist, I specialize in supporting exhausted adults who struggle with low self-esteem/people pleasing/co-dependency/perfectionism. My goal is to help you develop a positive view of yourself and thrive in a more fulfilling life.