Why do so many men sabotage relationships and careers? Current cultural stereotypes of men range from bumbling incompetence to aggressive, macho insensitivity. I’ve worked with men in therapy and personal growth workshops for over 25 years, and I’ve identified a type of adult man I call the LATE Men, Lost, Angry Teens, and they are often stuck in an adolescent level of development – literally, LATE to grow into full adult functioning.

We all have four primary internal parts: An Inner Child, a Teenager, an Inner Critic, and a loving, responsible Adult. The Teenager seeks independence, identity, and acceptance with peers. Teens may also become rebellious, angry, confused and withdrawn. Adjustment problems are more likely to occur in distressed or dysfunctional families, where adolescents do not receive the guidance, emotional support, and other resources necessary for healthy maturation and individuation. (more…)

I often say, when explaining eating disorders, that someday I’m going to invent the Eating Disorder Board Game. I certainly don’t mean to make light of eating disorders. They are serious conditions that cause tremendous pain to those  to have them and to their loved ones. I am a big believer in analogies’ abilities to explain thoughts and behaviors involved in eating disorders.

The Eating Disorder Board Game is one that I use to illustrate one of the salient issues involved in an eating disorder. Arrested psychological development is common in young people who develop eating disorders. Imagine a board game that begins at birth. Each player starts with a given temperament, or set of genetic markers that give them certain characteristics, and a given degree of emotional sensitivity.

As they move around the board, they learn, via the spaces they land on and the cards they draw, about their family environment and life circumstances. They can receive what they need in order to move on to the next stage of development. Things required to move to new spaces or stages symbolize secure infant attachment, attunement, protection, unconditional love and acceptance, caregivers who put their children’s needs ahead of their want.

However, they may not get all of those things, or some are cancelled out by other factors, such as traumatic experiences. So they may have to go back several spaces or lose turns. Players with certain sets of factors are statistically more likely to develop eating disorders.

Eventually, players get to adolescence and then the launching phase of life, wherein they are ready to leave home and move out into the world. At this point on the board there is a special feature. You know those circles of spaces on some board games where you get stuck going round and round while the other players continue around the board, and you have to roll exactly a certain number in order to get out?

Well, in the Eating Disorder Board Game, the majority of players who acquire eating disorders get stuck in that circle. What this illustrates is one common function of an eating disorder: enabling a person who has been deprived of what they need to develop. It substitutes real emotional nourishment in order to navigate the rocky transition from childhood to adulthood to do the impossible: to continue to move forward in life while barely progressing to psychological and emotional maturity.

Eating disorders often emerge in middle and high school because one’s psychic infrastructure—a sense of self, competence, and worth, a toolbox of interpersonal and emotional coping skills —isn’t adequate to support the weight of the demands of this stage of development. At this juncture, life gets much bigger as peers take on greater importance and family takes on less.  Kids without a solid infrastructure are vulnerable to developing maladaptive coping mechanisms to help them organize the muddle around or within themselves.

Body and weight can become easy,  logical focal points for a tweener or teenager who hears self-deprecating talk about being “so fat” and stinging criticism from other kids who are something other than slender. The malleable teenage brain, still developing its frontal lobs, is at risk for making decisions that don’t align with wellness when under social pressure. Arrival at the conclusion that appearance is the ticket to being liked, and to be fat leads to becoming alone and unloved may ring truest for their circumstances at the time.

In the Eating Disorders Board Game, players whose nature is emotionally sensitive or whose genetic makeup predisposes them to anxiety, to poor self-esteem, to a high degree of sensitivity to perceived rejection, and to perfectionism are vulnerable to eating disorders. All other vulnerabilities are enhanced in children whose family provides, as the creator of Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT) Marsha Linehan describes it, an “emotionally invalidating environment.”

An emotionally invalidating environment can comprise a variety of situations. Parents who are absorbed with chronic illness in the family, either of one parent or another sibling, may distribute attention unequally throughout the family or household. If both parents grew up in families that were emotionally invalidating, they may repeat the pattern of their childhood home. If neither parent was born with or developed a high level of emotional sensitivity, they may not see or understand the needs of the emotionally sensitive child.

An emotionally invalidating environment can also involve parents whose behavior is overtly harmful to their child. If one or both parents have problems with an addiction of some sort, life at home likely mirrors the chronic illness scenario with added accountability and security issues. If one of or both of the parents are verbally, physically and/or sexually abusive, and the child is left without a protective guardian between the two, this forms an emotionally invalidating environment as well. Addiction and abuse have a wide variety of relationships in families. They may combine in a variety of ways to create different degrees of safety and validation for children.

The range of factors that can make up an emotionally invalidating home environment is broad. The less obvious these factors, the more puzzling the origins and function of an eating disorder. But the presence of an eating disorder more often than not indicates the absence of some crucial ingredients in the child’s infrastructure.

Fortunately, in the Eating Disorder Board Game, when a player stuck in the circle at the border of adolescence and adulthood rolls the right number on the dice he or she exits the circle on the Road to Recovery. This road can be long and filled with setbacks. But is paved with lots of help from skilled professionals, and self-help programs and literature.

The player is accompanied by many other pieces on the board: loving family, supportive friends, and other players making their way along. There are no losers in this game, and it doesn’t matter who arrives at the end of the Road to Recovery first. Players are all in the game together, and the only way to lose is to stop playing before reaching the end.

How does growing up in a dysfunctional family affect us as adults? For adult children of addicts, the behaviors and beliefs that enabled us to survive as children can cause us a myriad of problems in adulthood. These patterns are so ingrained and automatic that we do them without even realizing it, and changing any of them can provoke anxiety and fear. They seem like a lifeline, but in adulthood, they become an albatross around our necks.

The degree to which we are affected depends on the level of dysfunction in the addicted parent and the other parent’s ability or inability to protect us. Some people who are addicted to substances are better parents than others. Some addicts may be able to function as a parent some of the time, and even when drinking may try to show an interest in their children. Others may be gone most of the time and be mean or even violent when they are home. A minority of non-addicted parents may seek help and be honest with us about what is happening in our home. They may be mature enough to put their own feelings aside to do what is best for us. Other parents may deny what is happening and try to put us in an adult role, which adds to our harm.

Consequences as Adults
The majority of adults from dysfunctional families find it difficult or impossible to trust people, especially in close relationships. Since they were often emotionally abandoned by one or both parents, they are terrified of being abandoned as adults. Loving someone makes them feel vulnerable, which is very frightening. To avoid this fear and anxiety, they often keep their feelings inside and don’t share who they really are with their partner.

If there is a problem or conflict they don’t talk about it—why would they? They have never seen two mature adults fight fair, so they don’t believe that it is possible. If they make it to therapy, it’s usually because they’re dragged in by their partner. Due to their fear of abandonment, they question their partner constantly about fidelity, even when they have no reason to. This often drives the partner away.

Most adult children of addicts have very lopsided relationships. People with codependency feel responsible for everyone who needs help and tend to attract friends and lovers who under-function. They are totally focused on everyone’s needs but their own, which keeps them from knowing themselves and what they need and want. Self-care is a foreign language. They work very hard and then feel hurt, resentful, and used.

People with codependency constantly question their own judgment. Some may check frequently with others. In therapy, they tend to ask me often if certain behaviors are normal. This lack of confidence in their judgment comes from the hideous scenes that happened in their family: where a parent was drunk, had a manic episode, or some similar incident, and the next day the family behaved as though it never happened.

People with codependency can struggle with self-esteem and feel chronically inadequate. They set impossible goals for themselves and then refuse help, which they see as weak or shameful. They often feel overwhelmed but keep it a secret so that nobody knows they’re suffering until they burst at the seams. Often, this is the crisis that first gets them to a therapist. They may be trying to juggle a ridiculously impossible schedule: they may work full time, go to school full time, have several children, and a dysfunctional partner to take care of. Often, they don’t realize how hectic their own life is, because they never think about it. They are too preoccupied with other people’s lives.

One of the most arduous decisions you may ever have to make is whether to stay married to someone who has cheated on you. For many people, the decision to not stay in the marriage is pretty straightforward, most often due to moralistic views about infidelity and the covenant of marriage. More often than not it’s complicated, and deciding whether to divorce or salvage a marriage can be heartbreaking and confusing. Marriage is a huge investment for many people, and as with anything in life, the greater the investment, the greater the loss. Marriage is tied up with many dreams, expectations, and fantasies, so divorce is a hugely difficult decision that should be taken very seriously.

Here are some issues that can get in the way of making a sound decision about whether to divorce:

Fear
Fear is at the core of most bad decisions. When we make choices in life based on fear, we are using the most primitive part of the human brain, a part designed to help us respond to dangerous situations for survival purposes. Human beings are the only species with a more evolved part of the brain that allows us to assess, reflect, and consider a situation before acting on it. This is the part of the brain we want to be using when making decisions about whether to divorce. Slowing things down, not acting hastily, and talking with a professional will help you achieve this goal.

Having Children
Many divorcing couples base their decision to stay in a marriage on their children. While it is extremely important to consider the impact of divorce on your children, it is helpful to not make them the determining factor. Children can easily be used as scapegoats to help parents avoid looking at all the options, even if those choices do not offer the most ideal consequences. There are many divorced households in which the children actually do better, so staying together for the children is not always the only and best solution. Meeting with a child therapist and reading up on the impact of divorce on children will help you make an educated decision.

Low Self-Esteem
Staying in a marriage because you are afraid there is nothing better out there is an issue of low self-esteem. Not feeling worthy of something better leads people to stay in bad marriages at the expense of their own happiness. Working on building your self-esteem and being clear about your value will help you make a proper decision about staying or leaving. Feeling empowered and complete with yourself is a valuable goal regardless of where you are in life, so use this opportunity for personal growth.

Black-and-White Thinking
Thinking in terms of right and wrong is the most obvious form of black-and-white thinking. It is easy to slip into a moralistic or righteous place after an infidelity, but it’s just a way of coping with the painful truth. Black-and-white thinking is very limiting and can lead to making a decision that is not founded on the whole truth. It is important to approach the decision to divorce with flexibility and openness to all options. Staying in the gray, as opposed to rigidly clinging to the black or white, allows for a more efficient and genuine decision.

Anger
Anger, not unlike fear, is not the best state of mind to be in when making a decision about your marital situation. Anger is a defense mechanism we use to gain control in a powerless situation, and it can cause us to make rash decisions that are not based on fact. If you respond to the circumstances of your marital conflict with anger as opposed to a calmness and clarity, you become blind to the possibility of potential solutions or answers. While the anger you feel may be justified and expected, it does not serve you in dealing with this important decision.

Uncertainty
Uncertainty breeds the tendency to cling to what we know. When it comes to the unpredictable future that is inherent in divorce, the first instinct is to hold on to the past because it’s familiar. The decision to stay or leave a marriage can be clouded by the unpredictable nature of your future without your partner, but the truth is that your future is unpredictable whether you are married or not. However, it is important to remember that the best predictor of the future is the past, so use your past experiences, successes, and failures to provide you with an accurate assessment of what you are capable of doing going forward. This will help you make a choice that is founded on the realities of who you are.

Deciding to stay in or leave a marriage can be torturous. Often, the heart and mind are conflicting when it comes to marriage and divorce, so it is normal to feel confused and uncertain about what to do. It can also be confounding to make a decision about something that doesn’t appear to have any positive consequences. Consulting a professional, becoming aware of your thinking and feelings, and taking the proper amount of time and space is integral to making the best possible decision for your future.

What do you do when you feel bad? You may clean your house, take a walk, or binge on sweet or salty foods depending on who you are and what habits you’ve developed. Does whatever you do make those bad feelings go away? If so, for how long?

Your feelings – good, bad, or ugly – represent your reactions to experiences. When you disown feelings, you disown yourself. This hurts your self-esteem. Let’s take a closer look at why.

By definition, you can not esteem someone who you are unfamiliar with. Self-esteem requires some knowledge of who you are and what you’re about. In other words, to have healthy self-esteem, you need a measure of self-knowledge. The more aspects of yourself you are aware of, the better you know yourself.

When we try to avoid to feeling the way we actually do,we are performing a kind of psychological gymnastics. We are maneuvering around inside ourselves in an attempt to distance ourselves from the pain. Cutting ourselves off from the pain rejects the part of us that is feeling pain. It’s a sacrifice similar to cutting off a leg caught in a trap in order to save the rest of our body.

Nobody wants to feel badly, which is why we try so hard to feel happy most of the time. When we can’t avoid feeling unhappy, we often try to contain any damage by “getting over it” quickly, or trying to talk ourselves out of an underlying feeling of loss. Some common examples are:

• “He was no good for me anyway.”
• “I should be glad I still have my health.”
• “She’s in a better place now.”

This is adaptive behavior that attempts to minimize emotional pain. Unfortunately, such attempts sometimes succeed too well in the long term. We isolate our hurt selves. We become fragmented in the process and keep ourselves from the healing we need.

At a deep level, we are aware of this banishment of our hurting selves. We know that we’re keeping something from ourselves. This knowledge itself must be hidden. Losing connection with the pain worsens as we lose trust in ourselves. There are too many secrets. We might even have lost self-respect because of what we dimly perceive as a lack of courage. We are afraid to repair the rift and invite all those suppressed feelings back into our awareness.

Feeling separated from ourselves erodes self-esteem, just as a collection of “No Trespassing” and “Keep Out” signs might erode the goodwill of one’s neighbors. Self-esteem requires that we embrace every aspect of ourselves. We need self-awareness and self-acceptance to feel whole. What many call “wallowing” is an opportunity for both awareness and acceptance of ourselves. Constructive wallowing is not for the weak or the idle. It takes courage and fortitude.

True wallowing is not like sinking into a warm bath; it’s more like getting a bikini wax. If you want the smooth results, you’ve got to endure the uncomfortable process. Just as it’s said that there’s a price for beauty, there is also a price for self-esteem. If it were easy to come by, more of us would have it. The price of self-esteem is full awareness and a willing embrace of our emotional pain.

Only by fully experiencing our pain can we reunite with the cut-off parts of ourselves that carry our deepest hurts. Through allowing ourselves to have our true feelings without self-criticism, we can know our whole selves and experience the courage of our intent to be who we are. This is the essence of self-esteem.

When we relate to others, there are three modes we can utilize. However, most of us probably predominantly behave and communicate in one of these modes.

Submissive mode is a way of communicating that demonstrates lack of respect for one’s own needs and rights. Most submissive people do not express needs, or do so in such an apologetic and diffident manner that they are often ignored and not taken seriously. Sometimes a submissive person will think that they have communicated clearly when in reality their message was so vague and unclear that it was not understood at all.

Aggressive mode is an expression of feelings, needs, and ideas in a way that goes against the other person. It is a “move against” or “move with the intent to hurt.”

Assertive mode is a method of communication which enables a person to maintain self-respect, clearly communicate and pursue their needs, and defend their rights and personal space without abusing or dominating others. It confirms one’s right to be in the world and put forward needs, desires, ideas, and feelings.

Understanding Submissiveness
The payoff for submissive communication is that the person gets to avoid conflict. Submission is a way of avoiding, delaying, or at least hiding the kind of conflict that is very scary to some people. Most people have been trained for submission by parents, older siblings, teachers, and others. Submissive people are often praised for being submissive: they are called “nice”, unselfish, good sports. It is important to note that submissive people often “win” and control others through their seeming niceness and weakness. They get to have what they want by having the least amount of responsibility and avoiding conflict at the same time.

There is also a price for “nice.” Submissive people go along with everyone’s wishes and needs and do not call their own play. Their relationships tend to not be as intimate and satisfying as those of others: a relationship requires two people and the submissive person is almost not there. People may like and praise the submissive person who voices no complaints for a while, but eventually the other person may start to feel guilt about being selfish or taking advantage of the submissive person.This feeling can then turn into pity, irritation, and eventually anger. Submissive people themselves eventually lose affection for others because they feel a lack of fulfillment.

The thing to remember is that every submission is a repression of anger, which eventually seeps into the affection individuals may feel. Sadly, submissive people act this way in order to be loved—but that very way of being eventually creates conflict and estrangement.

Understanding Aggressiveness
The aggressive person tries to get their needs met, even at the expense of another. Aggressive communication and behavior pay off in three major ways: the aggressive people tend to get their material needs met, are able to protect their space, and seem to have control over their lives and the lives of others.

There are also several downsides to aggression. Aggressive people are very fearful: people are aggressive not because they feel strong, but because they feel weak. They tend to make enemies, and their aggression ultimately makes them even more vulnerable and fearful. Aggressive people tend to alienate people and are usually not liked or loved. This alienation is a very powerful reason to deal with this issue. Too much aggression can also have serious consequences on one’s health and creates an unsafe world for all to live in. There are many aggressive people in our society.

Understanding Assertiveness
Assertiveness has a number of benefits. Assertive people usually like themselves more than the other two types: there is a connection between the ability to assert yourself and improved self-esteem. Assertiveness usually fosters better relationships by making a person more comfortable with themselves and therefore more comfortable to be around. Assertiveness greatly reduces fear and anxiety and enables people to release positive energy towards each other. Healthy and mutual satisfaction of needs in any relationship can only occur between assertive people. The biggest benefit of assertiveness is the feeling of living one’s own life. Your chances of getting what you want out of life greatly improve if you can let others know what you want and need, as well as how you feel.

I think that a person is most likely to get what they want from life and from others by being assertive. Of  course, assertiveness doesn’t always guarantee that you get what you want and need, but under most circumstances it is still most appropriate and preferable.

Is there a price for assertiveness? Yes, there always is. Learning assertiveness takes effort and can be a struggle. It is not easy to change a habitual way of communication. It can also be very painful to communicate vulnerably and honestly what you need, want, or feel and have that lead to conflict or rejection. In order to be assertive, you must be willing to risk enduring a conflict in order to hopefully forge a more authentic, intimate, and satisfying connection.

There are times and situations when submissiveness and aggression are appropriate. The problem is when those kinds of behavior are compulsive.

A choice to work on becoming more assertive is not an easy one. But it is the only possible way to take charge of one’s life and break out of a rut of compulsive behaviors learned in dysfunctional relationships. Assertion helps people to develop the power of having and making a choice, as well as learning to respect that choice in others.  In the end, assertiveness is better most of the time.

Self-esteem is a relational term. It describes a relationship between you and yourself. Having a solid sense of esteem for yourself puts you squarely in a partnership that is nurturing and accepting, as well as motivating and energizing.

Where does this relationship with you come from? How is it determined?
The answer for most of us is that our earliest relationships in life set the tone for our inner dialogue. This is good news, because it means that we can explore the origins of low self-esteem and intentionally create new relationships that fuel a more positive view of ourselves. Our childhood does not have to be our destiny.

Let’s explore how early relationships might affect self-esteem by looking at three different ways parents discipline their children: authoritarian, permissive, and authoritative. Of course, parenting consists of more than just discipline, but the methods parents use to teach children right from wrong can have effects that last well into adulthood.

Let’s look at these three typical styles of discipline, and see how they’re likely to affect self-esteem.

1. Authoritarian: In this style, parents are the ultimate and only authority. They rule with an iron hand, and they are obeyed out of fear. Children who disobey the rules – which might be arbitrary or systematic, fair or unreasonable, known ahead of time or stepped on by accident – are punished. The form of punishment can vary, but punishment is the expected outcome of rule-breaking.

This style of discipline can be likened to a military dictatorship. No one gets to vote, and the law is handed down from above. Punishment is swift and merciless.

Children raised with authoritarian parents learn to obey rules, but they do not learn to listen to their intuition or pay attention their own feelings. Their thoughts, values, and opinions are treated as irrelevant by important others. So they learn to treat themselves this way over time.

As adults, children raised in authoritarian homes are likely to have a great deal of self-discipline, but little self-knowledge and generally poor self-esteem. Since their inner workings were apparently irrelevant to their caregivers, they minimize their inner lives and maximize “shoulds” in their self-talk. Such people are intimately familiar with “shoulds.”

2. Permissive: A permissive family is sort of like a country without leadership: it’s a free-for-all, and anarchy reigns. This is terrifying for children, no matter how much kids seem to want their own way. In order to feel secure, children need to know that someone bigger, stronger, and hopefully smarter than them is in charge.

When there are no guidelines or boundaries set around children’s behavior, they come to believe that they do not matter enough for parents to care what they do. They wonder how much they are loved if no one seems to notice whether they’re home at 10 p.m.

It is as natural as clouds for children to conclude that they are unworthy when parented permissively. They may conclude that if they were smarter, prettier, nicer, better in some way then maybe the parent would care. Parental structure lends identity and purpose to a household.

Children of permissive parents often grow into adults who feel lonely, alienated, and unworthy. Their self-esteem is injured by a failure of visibility. They experienced themselves as basically invisible to important others at a time when they needed help to discover who they were, and that they mattered as people.

Permissive parents may sometimes decide to set rules, but children test the boundaries and they often do not stick. As with Authoritarian parenting, the rules are apt to change at the whim of the ruler. This conveys the message that the world is a confusing and untrustworthy place.

3. Authoritative: Authoritative parents have something in common with the rulers of a democratic country. They assume responsibility for leadership, but all citizens have a vote. Children of authoritative parents know where the boundaries are, and they are free to express displeasure with the rules, even if their wishes do not always carry the day.

Authoritative parents use reasonable, age-appropriate punishment that fits the “crime.” Children know ahead of time exactly what will happen if they break the rules, and why. There’s no wondering whether or how they’ll be punished on that particular occasion.

Unexpected punishments and resulting confusion can occur within the other two styles of discipline. Though the rules are consistent and dependable, they’re also flexible enough to accommodate unusual circumstances. For example, a child gets to stay up an hour past her usual bedtime to attend an event that has special importance to her.

Children of authoritative parents enjoy a sense of security about themselves and the world in general. They are more likely to be able to trust others, as well as themselves. They experience the world as a place that makes sense, and others as generally fair and reasonable. They make choices about their behavior, understanding consequences, and develop non-neurotic self-discipline.

It is easy to see why children of authoritative parents have a leg up on others in the self-esteem department. Their objections to the rules are acknowledged and considered. And their good deeds are rewarded as often as the no-no’s are punished.

In other words, children of authoritative parents feel seen and valued for who they are. They know that they matter to important others. Therefore, they matter to themselves. This is the foundation of self-esteem.

All these styles of discipline fall along a continuum. Most parents practice some blend of these, and it is also possible to have one parent with a discipline preference that does not match the other’s.The more often parents are able to discipline with an authoritative style, the more their children will develop good habits, a sense of security, and healthy self-esteem.

People often speak as if self-esteem were based on a self-evaluation of your skills and talents. We’re encouraged to think about the things we’re good at in order to improve our reputation with ourselves. Liking certain things about ourselves is certainly valuable. But, as many people who suffer with low self-esteem can tell you, knowing you perform well at something can’t replace the inner peace of healthy self-esteem.

Even thinking of things you like about yourself – your sense of humor, your generosity, your reliable nature – often just feels like a mental exercise that never really touches your baseline level of self-esteem.  Rather than thinking of self-esteem as the result of an evaluative process, think of it as the natural state of all human beings at birth.

No one is born with low self-esteem. At birth, we are not yet aware of all the wonderful and significant things about the person we are. And yet, we still manage to feel just fine about ourselves as a little bundle of needs demanding to be met. The question of self-worth is not on our radar when we enter the world.

As babies, under normal circumstances, we enjoy taking in the sights, sounds, textures and smells around us. When we’re hungry or wet or scared, we cry. We don’t consider whether we are worthy of being fed or receiving nurturing. We only know that we want it. In other words, we come into this world pre-programmed with self-acceptance. Then comes childhood.

It would take a saint, a social vacuum, and the perfect alignment of stars to raise someone without the child ever feeling badly about them self. Consequently, most of us emerge from childhood feeling inadequate. Our natural esteem for ourselves is eroded or injured as we grow into adults – in some of us far more than others.

Though we may not think about it consciously, some of us live with a familiar level of discomfort inside. We criticize our thoughts, feelings and behavior before others can beat us to it. This is low self-esteem. While low self-esteem originates in an accumulation of early experiences of feeling “bad,” it is perpetuated in the present by a constant stream of internal self-criticism.

When working with clients who are suffering with low self-esteem, I often note that the problems that bring them to therapy are exacerbated by self-criticism. The process of unrelenting self-criticism often comes in the form of negative self-talk. Such critical thoughts are often a re-creation of the original caregiver-child relationship.

Negative self-talk reduces the heart’s ability to heal from emotional wounds. Thus, it may be helpful to think of high self-esteem as the opposite of self-criticism. People who enjoy high self-esteem do not engage constantly in criticizing themselves. This is not to suggest that high-self-esteem folks think everything they do is great.

On the contrary, those who enjoy higher self-esteem hold themselves to personal standards, and regularly evaluate how they’re doing. The difference is that, when they (inevitably) disappoint themselves, they don’t conclude that they’re “bad” or unworthy. They simply acknowledge their errors and make a note to try harder next time.

If you feel you suffer from low self-esteem, pay attention to how often you criticize yourself in your mind. If you’re like many people, you may be barraged so often with self-criticism that you don’t even notice it consciously! It’s like the operating software on a computer; it runs all your programs invisibly in the background.

To replace your operating system with one that serves you better, promise you’ll be kinder to yourself in your mind, and then do it. Root out and expose the critical voice inside that won’t cut you a break. Also, seek out relationships with people who help you feel accepted and appreciated. A good therapist will engage with you in this kind of healing relationship, providing you with a model you can build on in the future.

You can not change what happened to you in the past, but you can change how you treat yourself in the present. If you’re not accepting and esteeming yourself today, you deserve better treatment from the most important person in your life: you.

Low self-esteem shows itself in many ways. Thinking others’ poor behavior is a reflection on us instead of them, disliking the human race, perfectionism, over- and underachievement, and feeling “different” from others are all possible correlates of low self-esteem.

There’s no automatic connection between self-esteem and any one behavior. It’s important to look at the big picture before assuming someone has low self-esteem based on a given trait. What is the person’s general pattern? Having said that, discussed below are two more potential symptoms of low self-esteem. This is not an exhaustive list, but rather part of a continuing discussion.

1. Dishonesty

High self-esteem doesn’t get along with dishonesty, and so the latter can only thrive where self-esteem is low. High self-esteem always embraces a basic policy of honesty, in the interest of maintaining open and truthful communication with others and ourselves.

On the other hand, low self-esteem invites and promotes dishonesty. When self-esteem is low, it feels necessary to lie at times—to ourselves, others, or both—in order to avoid painful consequences.

For example, if my self-esteem is low, I would rather lie about my feelings than tell you where I really stand and risk an uncomfortable confrontation. Or I would rather lie to myself about my disappointment than experience it directly and suffer all the more.

Not being able to see ourselves as truthful and trustworthy poisons our opinion of ourselves, making it hard to feel pleased with who we are. Hence, like all other factors that interact with self-esteem, dishonesty is both a result and a cause of low self-esteem.

Challenge Your Patterns

If you regularly find yourself avoiding being truthful, take the risk of being honest—at least with yourself—whenever possible. Whenever you decide to tell a lie, make it a conscious choice; say to yourself, “Right now I am choosing to lie to my friend/husband/mother to avoid a confrontation that I don’t want to deal with.”

The more you get real with yourself, the harder it will be to continue being untruthful with others.

2. Poor Boundaries

Boundaries are the psychological borders between two people. Rather than being a wall or defense I put up around myself, a boundary represents my understanding of where I end and you begin. Though often confused with defense mechanisms, boundaries are just invisible borders. We can choose to ignore or defend them, but they are always there.

Boundaries divide what’s mine from what’s yours. From my point of view, everything inside the boundary belongs to me, and what’s outside my boundaries belongs to someone else.

Rights and responsibilities are the most common victims of poor boundaries. When I understand the extent and limits of my rights and responsibilities, it is easier for me to comprehend yours. Healthy boundaries help me know what is and isn’t mine to take responsibility for, and they help me respect your autonomy and separate identity even while I’m in a close relationship with you. When someone treats you as an extension of themselves, they are revealing their poor boundaries.

Poor boundaries and low self-esteem frequently go hand-in-hand because of our foundational relationship with boundaries. We learn about boundaries from our family of origin. If we were acknowledged and valued as beings separate from our caregivers, we are more likely to have developed healthy boundaries. However, if our caregivers did not respect our separateness from themselves, or if they gave us too much room and not enough connection with them, we develop too loose or too rigid boundaries.

Whether there was too much enmeshment or not enough connection with caregivers, we likely felt invisible. When children feel invisible to their parents, they begin believing that they’re not worthy of love or attention. Of course, this belief prohibits the development of robust self-esteem. If they are treated as an extension of the caregiver, then they will feel unfamiliar with their self. If denied affection, the child will feel rejected and inherently unlovable.

Those invisible and rejected children grow up to be adults with injured self-esteem and impaired awareness around boundaries.

Challenge Your Patterns

Assertiveness training can help a great deal. It’s also useful to be in relationships with people who have good boundaries. People with healthy boundaries know how to be close and intimate with others without losing their sense of self or steamrolling the other person.

Counseling can also help you learn more about boundaries, provided your counselor practices good boundaries. A counselor with good boundaries is clear about setting appointments, starts and ends sessions on time, and is direct and consistent about issues of payment.