Hypnotherapy is a very effective tool to help people suffering with low self esteem, with the use of hypnotherapy I have helped myself and a number of clients increase self esteem. I developed self esteem issues after growing up in a very dysfunctional environment, I believe this is the cause of low self esteem for many people.
Self Esteem & The Inner Child
When we are children we’re looking to the people around us to understand ourselves and our environment, parents and caregivers that are dysfunctional or have their own unresolved trauma often project those issues onto the children in their family, before the age of seven is known as the imprint period and it’s when neuroplasticity is at its highest. As I discuss in this post here, “The really horrible thing about narcissistic parents is that the child’s neuroplasticity is so high and the abuse is so complex that many people will never realize the extent to which it has affected their lives.”
If we are growing up around an abusive adult, if we are constantly being put down, told were not good enough, weren’t wanted, if were being called stupid or thick. We will internalise that abuse and think it means there’s something wrong with us. Abuse whether it’s physical, mental or emotional will cause children to develop issues with their confidence and self esteem, they will struggle to set boundaries and assert themselves. Someone subject to constant and ongoing abuse will develop learned helplessness, they will form an external locus of control and feel unable to influence their feelings or the things that are happening in their lives.
What’s The Difference Between Confidence, Self Esteem & Assertiveness?
Although people suffering from low self esteem will probably have assertiveness and confidence issues they are all different things. Self esteem refers to how a person values themselves and their ability to take responsibility for their feelings and actions.
Self Esteem
Someone suffering low self-esteem might struggle to concentrate or feel unmotivated, because they are looking to things outside of themselves to regulate their emotions; they may develop addiction issues and rely on substances or behaviours to make them feel a sense of value.
A person with low self esteem will seek the approval of others, they will live in fear of failure and rejection, because of this fear of rejection, constant need for attention and assurance they will struggle to bond in a healthy way with other people people with low self-esteem often become people pleasers and find themselves unhealthy or abusive relationships.
Confidence & Assertiveness
There is confidence and then there is self confidence as with self esteem. A person with a dysfunctional childhood or some kind of trauma is likely to develop issues feeling confident, they will look outside of themselves to feel confident. A person with low confidence is likely to try to find it in possessions or achievements. A self confident person will trust themselves and feel secure, they will be comfortable in challenging circumstances and feel capable of learning new skills. An assertive person can maintain healthy boundaries, they are comfortable telling people no and they can communicate effectively.
Hypnotherapy
With the use of hypnotherapy I have had great success increasing my own self esteem, self worth, confidence and assertiveness, I often share these techniques with my clients who also have success with them. I have used hypnotherapy and reparenting techniques to heal my own inner child.
But the great thing about hypnotherapy is that we don’t have to go all the way back to the inner child to increase our self esteem, using hypnosis we can start to visualise ourselves the way we want to be and because our minds cannot tell the difference between real or imagined events we can start to become that person. Research has show that by visualising what we want we can actually start to create new neural pathways and become the person that we want to be.
Self Esteem Workshop
Below you will find a recording of my self esteem workshop which can also be found on my YouTube channel
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