According to the National Association for Self-Esteem, lack of self-esteem affects every area of life. For young women, low self-esteem leads to poor choices that can sabotage success and interfere with healthy maturity. Healthy self-esteem ensures success in endeavors, frees young women to make wise lifestyle choices and helps them build and maintain relationships.
Significance
Self-esteem is the belief that you deserve to be happy. Having self-esteem means that you believe you are capable of meeting challenges as they occur, and that you have the right and are worthy of being happy. Going through puberty is a difficult time for young women. Their bodies are changing, hormones are fluctuating and they must begin to make decisions independent of their parents. Healthy self-esteem allows young women to navigate these demanding periods.
Consequences
Poor choices can alter the lives of young women forever. According to the National Association for Self-Esteem, there is a close relationship between low self-esteem and drug use among girls. Using drugs to ease feelings of inferiority can lead to addiction. Eating disorders such as anorexia and bulimia often are associated with low self-esteem and can lead to serious medical complications. Poor choices resulting from low self-esteem can lead to serious problems such as pregnancy, dropping out of school and suicide.
Features
A healthy dose of self-esteem helps young women to maintain a positive attitude, which aids in a number of life skills. Positive people are happier, optimistic and able to see the bright side in any situation. They persevere because they are hopeful that their efforts will result in success. According to the Center for Young Women's Health, those with high self-esteem generally find life more enjoyable.
Benefits
Young women with good self-esteem make friends easily and build healthy relationships with their peers and with adults. Young women with good self-esteem easily forgive themselves for making mistakes and don't dwell on the negative. They are more likely to stick with projects to the end. They are more self-accepting than their peers with low self-esteem. Young women with self-esteem can accept physical flaws such as pimples or a crooked nose.
Effects
Young women who have not developed healthy self-esteem tend to be drawn into unhealthy relationships. They often attract young men with low self-esteem who boost their own egos by controlling the young women. Doctors at the Mayo Clinic report that women with low self-esteem have difficulty with many relationships. They are preoccupied with themselves and with their low opinions of themselves. Young women with low self-esteem need constant reassurance; even when they get it, they continue to be insecure, which leads to fights and disunity in a relationship. The insecurity mounts, and they often become unable to leave unhealthy relationships.
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