The thread of self confidence.

[leapy]

I had a look and I can't fond anything quite like this on the board. We have the Venting Thread Gamma but that seems to be more about, well, venting.

It has recently come to my attention that there are people out in the world who actually like themselves. I know, crazy, right? These lucky people apparently possess something called self-esteem and something else called self-confidence.

So, I want in on this. I've suffered from LSE since primary school ( the last half of which I've blocked out) all the way through secondary school (all of which I've blocked out) and right on into my 20s.

I'm a wee bit sick of it to tell you the truth.

The idea is that this thread can be a place where people can share experiences of what actually works in getting back on track, or try to find out . Whether you're just having a shitty time of it lately or if your long term self-esteem is in the toilet, this should be a place where you can come for advice (I know there are some on here who are in a position like that). Or if you've managed to sort yourself out and are now enjoying life a lot more ( and I know there are some people on here like that too) then please give the rest of us some pointers.

Lets try and keep it on the positive side, we can save the negativity for the venting thread and make diamonds out of it, beautiful negativity diamonds.

[Metcarfre]

Does LSE stand for low self esteem? Is that... a clinical designation?

Anyways, working out and figuring out how to dress better helps a lot. Taking notice of how I dress has really helped. Feel free to drop by the Menswear or Fitocracy threads anytime.

I got a lot more confident at some point during uni. Probably just got more and more socialized and used to different situations.

[CtMolloy]

Does LSE stand for low self esteem? Is that... a clinical designation?

It stands for large shield extender... I have played too much EVE...

I found that writing and playing music has improved my confidence a lot over the years, I guess it helps that some people seem to like what I do there.

I recently started some study and that has helped a little bit too, I was feeling a bit lost and pointless after breaking up with my ex, and studying has made me feel like I'm working towards something, met new people and so forth.

[Fezzul]

Socializing more, being in drama school, just being away from high school all helped. Finding out my incredible memory was cool and not annoying. Getting good at playing music. These are all good, and when I found out that people like people who are good at music (as long as you don't show off too much) this helped a great deal. Losing weight and cleaning up my appearance were the things that really made me feel like I was in control of my life. I was insecure about my appearance for years, and finally having a sense of agency about something over which I previously had none, to the point where some people (mad people) have decided that I am handsome... Well it feels pretty good.

Finally, realizing that there are people who like me for being who I am, that's a pretty good feeling.

Not that this fixes confidence issues, but it makes them easier to deal with.

[Merrymaker_Mortalis]

I have a non-medical LSE. But I am slowly turning it into anger.

[plummeting_sloth]

The number of times this thread ends up next to the depression one will be both fittingly convenient and mockingly delicious.

[ex-Lurker]

I never knew mockery was delicious, what does it taste like?

[plummeting_sloth]

mock turtle soup.

[leapy]

Does LSE stand for low self esteem? Is that... a clinical designation?

Diagnosed by a qualified therapist, yes

I got a lot more confident at some point during uni. Probably just got more and more socialized and used to different situations.

Probably not an option for me now, at least for a while. I'm nearing the end of the course that was supposed to enable me to get to uni next year, I started out well but hit a really bad slump at the beginning of this semester and have learn't a grand total of fuck all since then. Chances of passing - Slim; chances of getting the grades I need to meet the conditions of the single offer I got - None.

I have a non-medical LSE. But I am slowly turning it into anger.

Way ahead of you.