Self Esteem Essay

INTRODUCTION Self-esteem is usually considered as an overall sense of worth about self. Individual‘s perception about the self can be positive or negative that can be understandable through person’s long term functioning. If it is more stable, it can be taken as a personal characteristic which is not easily changeable. Those with normal or high self esteem can handle painful experience with less stress. However, people with low self esteem can easily come under emotional pressure and have depressive mood. They become sad under tension producing situation and it is quite difficult for them to handle major responsibilities and to manage stresses of life. Patients with psychiatric disorders can have high or low self esteem depending on their diagnosis. They may have particular orientation and evaluation of self worth or value toward self. In depressive state they usually have a negative self evaluation. As soon as the patient’s depression is over, her/his self image also improves. It gives an indication that self image may vary from time to time; however there are differences in views. “Self-esteem is only one component of the self-concept, which Rosenberg defines as, the totality of the individual 's thoughts and feelings with reference to himself as an object. Besides self-esteem, self-efficacy or mastery, and self-identities are important parts of the self-concept”. 1

Some view low and high