Saturday, November 19, 2011

DEFINING YOURSELF Part 2

Part 1 did not discuss the degree of effect other people influence how we define ourselves.  Parents who continually call their kids 'stupid' or other pejorative names, teachers who do nothing positive to support a child, persons of authority neither protecting a child against sexual abuse not refrain from committing it themselves, and those who do not listen to children and try to determine how they see themselves contribute to negative self-images.

When children have low self-esteem, they do not work toward goals for which they get no positive reinforcement.  They may get stomach aches,m head aches and, without question, live under great psychic stress manifesting itself in illnesses, lethargy, depression, acting out and dangerous behavior to mention a few.

Children may not have the words to describe how they feel about themselves but they give off clues that tell a great deal.  Most children may become shy and 'internalize' the negatives they feel about themselves.  In households where the adults do not share much about themselves, children may feel responsible for the unhappiness, illness, death, or divorce in the family.

Until a person can develop a strong sense of self, they are dependent on the feedback they get from others. If they have previously been traumatized, have PTSD, a visible disability for which their mobility, intellectual capacity, or appearance is compromised, they do not have a fertile foundation in which to grow a good sense of self without a great deal of external support  If they are clinically depressed, that empty feeling in the pit of their stomach that never goes away, makes it impossible for them to accept that people are being sincere when giving compliments.

Children who have low esteem grow up to be adults with low self-esteem unless they have had a great deal of help to see themselves differently.  However, even when grows up with self-confidence it can be lost in adulthood by negative and unfair work evaluations, firing off a job, divorce, false arrest, and so many other unpleasant life experiences.

The bumper sticker which suggests committing a random act of kindness would make all our lives far more pleasant.

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