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No Self Esteem


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#1 Struggling teen

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Posted 09 March 2015 - 08:09 PM

I don't know if this belongs on this site or where it belongs or etc so forgive me if it doesn't belong here.

 

Recently I have been seeing myself in a very bad way: Physically I don't like myself (my body and how I look) and My inner self I don't like (who I am, who I became etc)

 

I have been having some sleepless nights recently waking up and random hours in the morning when no one is up yet and its still dark outside and I just cry on my bed. I scream instead and yell that im in so much pain.

 

Any suggestions for me to start liking myself or seeing myself in a better way?

 

I would really really REALLY appreciate it.

 

Thanks,

Struggling Teen 



#2 Bas-Levi

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Posted 12 March 2015 - 08:55 PM

Hi Struggling,

 

Sounds like you're going through a really hard time. It's great, though, that you're working on seeing yourself in a positive light. Good for you!

 

Here are a few suggestions for improving your self-image:

1) Reading R' Twerski - he has some great suggestions for figuring out the roots of low self-esteem. Also, if you feel comfortable learning in Hebrew, there's a sefer called Kovod Atzmi that addresses this very well. It's short and written in a straightforward way.

 

2) Each day, write down three things you're proud of (about yourself or something you accomplished). It can be - davening shacharis, didn't respond with anger to someone else's behavior, smiling when you didn't feel like it. Keep this up every day for 40 days minimally. 

 

3) Create a list of positive, self-affirming statements and repeat them to yourself every morning and evening. Say them out loud. 

 

Examples:

I am a tzelem Elokim.

Even though I've made mistakes in the past, I am good, worthy and valuable.

Even though difficult things have happened to me, I am a good, worthy and valuable person.

Today I take responsibility for my words and actions.

I am important because Hashem created me. 

No matter what, I am a bas melech who matters.

Hashem loves me.

I love and accept myself.

 

According to cognitive behavioral therapy methodologies, saying these types of statements out loud can actually help reprogram your mind to think positively. This is so because each thought a person has creates a neural pathway in the brain; every time you go back to that thought, you strengthen its neural pathway. 

 

Oh, and by the way - the yetzer hora is the voice of self-criticism, self-doubt and self-hatred. The yetzer hora often leads a person towards an aveirah, and then once the person falls, the yetzer hora changes tactics - he starts "mussaring" the person by telling them how terrible they are, how they're a hopeless failure, etc. DON'T LISTEN TO HIM. Everyone makes mistakes - it's part of being human. The trick is the pick yourself back up and keep trying - which the yetzer hora will try to prevent. Never give up, no matter what.

 

Keep up the great work and hatzlocha rabbah!




#3 Struggling teen

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Posted 15 March 2015 - 09:46 PM

Bas-Levi,

 

Yes I am and have been going through a very rough time...

 

1) No don't feel comfortable reading in hebrew

 

2) im not proud of myself for anything...used to be was proud of what I looked like but not anymore....

 

-the yetzer hara has won over me already its to late he got into my body and my mind already.........

 

im in such a rut of hating myself I don't know how to get out of it!



#4 Bas-Levi

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Posted 16 March 2015 - 04:19 PM

Hey Struggling Teen,

 

Sounds really hard. In terms of feeling proud of yourself - it's okay if you're not up to that point yet - you will get there bez"H. Instead of writing a list of things you're proud of, you can make a list of things you did that were good - regardless of how you feel about yourself or the deed. The Torah defines what's good/bad and whether you feel proud or not at this point, making the list will hopefully help you get to a point where you start to feel that pride. It takes time - it does NOT happen overnight - but it is very worth it.

 

The yetzer hora's most sinister tactics are to lead a person astray and then condemn her for it. Like, he'll distract a person from paying attention during davening, try to get her to think about what she's having for breakfast, her homework, the weather, etc. As soon as she finishes Aleinu, the yetzer hora changes tactics - he dresses up as a disapproving Rosh Yeshiva, telling the person how shvach her davening was, how terrible she is, how Hashem is disgusted by her tefillos. This disparagement then pushes the person's self-image down; she doesn't even want to try again, b/c the yetzer hora has convinced her that she is hopeless and worthless. 

 

This is total sheker. The whole purpose of our existence is to try again and again to do ratzon Hashem. We fall and we get up. The yetzer hora wants us to fall and stay down. His biggest victory is to chain us to a wrong self-image and convince us that we are inherently bad with no hope of growth or change. This is wrong. It is false. It is damaging. The trick is therefore to recognize whose "voice" you're hearing - your own self, your neshoma, the part of you that knows, deep down, that you have worth and that there is hope - or the voice of the yetzer hora. In your case, I would strongly suggest - ignore the louder voice - that's the bad guy. Let your own voice come through. Do things you know are right, even if your yetzer hora tells you you're hopeless or whatever. Those actions will affect your mind, gradually. Don't try to fight the thoughts - notice them and continue doing positive actions. Write about those actions and review your list once a week. Say the self-affirming statements (see my previous post) out loud. 

 

R' Avigdor Miller zt"l often writes about the importance of "being fake." In other words, "fake it til you make it." Put on an act - an act of goodness, kindness, calmness, whatever, even if you don't feel that it's really "you." The more you act in that way, the stronger the effect on your pnimiyus. Soon, he advises, you'll trick yourself into thinking that you are that good/kind/calm/whatever person. And that is who you will genuinely become. Don't look for instant results - these things take time. 

 

Also, know that setbacks are normal and inevitable. Just use them as stepping stones to bounce back. Life is full of ups and downs - let me repeat that, ups and downs. The downs are part of the picture, unpleasant as they are. Falling, having a setback, making a mistake is a given. We're humans, not malachim. We are not expected to be perfect, only to do our best. Your best is just that - your best, at this point in your life. Not someone else's best. Yours! 

 

A teacher of mine addressed the tactics of the yetzer hora in a shiur on davening. She said the following: regardless of how a person davens, s/he should finish the tefillah and say, "Another nitzachon (victory) over the yetzer hora!" This applies to anything - not getting angry, avoiding loshon hora, wearing a tzniusdik outfit when you'd rather wear something less so, paying attention to half a brocha in shemoneh esrei, smiling when you don't feel like it, taking 2 more seconds to focus on the brocha mezonos, etc. No matter how much you "could have done it better" or "how far you are from your goal" or "how much better Shprintze did it" - tell yourself, out loud, "Another nitzachon over the yetzer hora!" 

 

Another thing, and the most important, is daven. Daven with all the desperation in your heart. Don't give up. EVER. Hashem sees your matzav - He put you in it! - and He is the One who can take you out of it and bring you to a healthier place.

 

Keep up your great work. You can do this! I give you a brocha that you should see the progress you make in each of its increments and feel pride - in yourself as a tzelem Elokim, as a Yid, as a human being striving to grow and change. 

 

:)




#5 Struggling teen

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Posted 19 March 2015 - 08:18 PM

Bas-Levi:

 

I appreciate from the bottom of my heart you taking your time out to answering me.

 

I read what you wrote twice to make sure I comprehended it all. I will try everything you said and I sure hope things will change because as of now things are looking down, had yet another push down from hashem......I feel like I was his mistake person that he made....not a good feeling to have....

 

just one problem with one thing you said- daven--- I kind of gave up with that I gave up with thinking that he will answer me. anything I ask he just does the opposite  and makes it tougher on me...I might as well not ask...



#6 Bas-Levi

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Posted 20 March 2015 - 03:25 PM

Hey Struggling Teen,

 

My pleasure! I really hope things start to look up for you. It takes time and it's not a straightforward process, but it is so worth it. The road to self-esteem and healthy confidence is not linear - there WILL be ups and downs - but as long as you're headed towards a better place, it's the direction that counts. I saw this on a certain shiurim website - "The true power, beauty and value of a person is not indicated by where they are standing, but in the direction they are facing."

 

For right now, maybe hold off on the davening piece. At least, hold off on davening formally, from a siddur. You can talk to Hashem in your own words, telling him what you feel and what's on your mind, whenever you're in the mood. Take it one thing at a time. You can work on davening at a later time. And if the yetzer hora tries to "guilt-trip" you into feeling bad about not davening, tell him to go jump in the lake. You're growing at your own pace and that's what's important. When you can get to a place where you see yourself as a valuable tzelem Elokim, it will become easier to connect with Hashem personally bez"H.

 

Keep up the great work! And have a wonderful Shabbos!

 

:)




#7 Morgenstern

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Posted 27 March 2015 - 02:12 AM

(1:Seek truth

(2:Accept Rabbi Shapiro's Torah as Divine Revelation (This is good for you. Please, trust me :(, Ok?)

(3.Read Rav Miller (ztvkl). 

(4. You are a very ehrlich meidal ....you being on this website is confirmation of that......Yep...

(5. Have faith that our grandparents were right and that what was taught to them, that was being taught for several thousand years, was in fact, the authentic transmission of Hashem's precious Revelation.

(6.With that in mind, *know* there is a light at the end of the tunnel.........and that you/your aynekles will be inheritors of a great spiritual legacy......as long as  you remain *loyal* to the Chachamim.

(7.Know that there will always be people who will dislike you. Ignore those people. Just turn your back on them. Do whats right....*for you*.....

 



#8 Struggling teen

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Posted 29 March 2015 - 04:07 PM

Bas-Levi: Thank you for your kind words and encouragement.

 

Light-Pollution:

 

First of all thanks. Second-

 

1) I have been trying to seek the truth but haven't really got answers

 

2) What do you mean?

 

3) what should I read from him?

 

4) Thanks for the compliment I just wish I could feel that way

 

5) Okay

 

6) Amen

 

7) Yeah but its pretty hard when there are a lot of such people who dislike me and very few of the liking.

 

5)



#9 Morgenstern

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Posted 30 March 2015 - 01:14 AM

Bas-Levi: Thank you for your kind words and encouragement.

 

Light-Pollution:

 

First of all thanks. Second-

 

1) I have been trying to seek the truth but haven't really got answers

 

2) What do you mean?

 

3) what should I read from him?

 

4) Thanks for the compliment I just wish I could feel that way

 

5) Okay

 

6) Amen

 

7) Yeah but its pretty hard when there are a lot of such people who dislike me and very few of the liking.

 

5)

2:He is a representative of Daat Torah. He is Divine Revelation in ah guf. You don't comprehend what he is....

3:Start with the following:Rejoice O Youth, Sing you Righteous, Awake my Glory. I also recommend reading Torah Nation (Changed my life, and *convinced* me that Jews will exist for all eternity ad hayom hagadol v'hanora....(The end of physical reality as we have known it for the last 5700 years...I know, sounds *very* far-fetched..... :ph34r: )

 4:You just don't hear it enough.....the people in your life are destroying your self-image, I see it in your posts.....

5:Its clear to me you have many toxic influences in your life....you are in my thoughts....I have a problem with davening as well.....I went to public school...Im maskilisha Yid... B) 

Very maskilesheh ;'(

 



#10 Struggling teen

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Posted 30 March 2015 - 06:51 PM

Light- Pollution:

 

2) I know he is just don't understand what I am trusting him about

 

3) Are those books available to be read online or no?

 

4) your right I don't hear it enough...that's why I appreciate it a lot :)

 

5) what do u mean by toxic influences? I am not sure what a maskileshes yid means but I give you credit for coming out of public school and staying strong. you will be in my thoughts :)



#11 Morgenstern

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Posted 31 March 2015 - 01:14 AM

1.That he is an irleche individual, and he knows what hes talking about (Doesnt mean he is always right, but Im personally mvatal mein daas to him 99.991/2 percent of the time of the time, because he is definitely a bigger yireh Shomayim and Talmid-Chacham than I am, or the vast majority of homo sapien sapiens that dwell on this oh-so-cosmically-significant planet) 

2.Not that I know but you can get them here, at a bargain deal (I tried ordering Torah Nation -Chaval- its sold out, and Amazon's prices are RIDICULOUS in comparison. (Though we must have the hashkafah that the value of a sefer compiled by an adam gadol is more precious than all the riches of the multi[?]-verse.....Remeber, l'fum tzarah:[the bigger the] ahgra)

http://www.simchasha...><br><br><br> 3.The people who put you down...the anti-Torah heretics and baalei machloket who trash Torah-true Judaism....the bigots who hate Jews for being religious or not being the same ethnicity as them....the Illuminati-controlled left-wing biased media that hypocritically exposes frummies who abuse children and exposes "frum" people involved in white-collor crime, to the disgrace of Klal Yisrael....all of this contributes to a struggling Israelites having a negative self-image R''L....Just know that you are very, very, very special....your womb will increase the presence of Hashem in the Olam...You just need to learn and by doing that you will become a convinced and fulfilled Jewess. Give me some pointers when you get there.


I blame my maskil-kite on the fact that I grew up around Iranian Jews (Im the first in my 2,000-year old Babylonian blood-line mishpachah to not be born in the alter-heim) and even though I was fascinated by the narratives of the Torah, my Hebrew school teachers failed at stoking the flame within me to really want to become more involved in Yiddishkite.....all that is a recipe for the demoralization of youth.....it wasn't until a ruach tahor overcame me....then directed my energy to tumah,I started going to Chabad, and had to get de-programmed by my Rav.....I have since developed an antipathy for the "power-system" and the role religion plays in the manipulation of the masses...but I believe my Rabbis who say they know the Torah is Emes know about what they are talking...hopefully, some day, I will be able to say that "I know Torah is true...." I need to keep hitting the books.

 

 



#12 Struggling teen

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Posted 31 March 2015 - 01:54 PM

Light-Pollution:

1) I didn't say he is not I know he is but I am asking what am I listening to him about? what did he say?

 

2) yeh on Amazon there expensive...and if I want to read a lot of such books I cant buy them all......especially for expensive prices

 

"i blame my............" - again I don't know what that means but yes I had people who failed to brighten the flame of yiddishkeit in me too its such a shame that's why I feel every teacher needs a real looking into and thorough interview before going into chinuch they don't realize what they can do!

 

Stay strong! Hopefully we can stay srong together!



#13 Morgenstern

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Posted 31 March 2015 - 06:19 PM

1.You have to come to the recognition that his words are the most chashuveh thing *ever*

Its a challenge.....depending on what your "hashkafah" is....

 

Masklish is code for "westernized."

Think "enlightenment" period. Think haskalah and Ramad (Mendelson)...did you know he was well-connected to German aristocracy?....Makes me wonder.....



#14 Morgenstern

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Posted 31 March 2015 - 07:26 PM

Have a freilehchen yon tiff and a chag simeach, Fraulein Esty! 



#15 Morgenstern

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Posted 31 March 2015 - 10:15 PM

Oh, and one more thing, I reccomend you pick this book up.

http://www.amazon.co...54506<br><br> It will make you feel "closer" to Yiddishkite....you will really impress hemish people if you sprinkle your vocabulary in Yiddish (and beyond).....Were you aware speaking a different language from the goyim around you is a segulah for bringing the geulah shalaymah?



#16 Struggling teen

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Posted 01 April 2015 - 10:37 PM

Ligh Pollution:

 

1) Yes I did and its a shame that he has not been on...

 

 

and yeh I know a little about the enlightenment......but you sound amazing I don't care what u say :)

 

thank you you too wishing you a great yontif! lets hope that we both can "break free" this Pesach! 

 

Interesting I didn't know that but learning Yiddish will be to hard for me :( we had Spanish in school and I couldn't pick it up I picked some little bit of Hebrew up...Im not the smartest out there either :(