Guest Blogger: Improving Your Self-Esteem for a More Well-Rounded Life

This article was written by guest blogger, Adam C. He's contributed a few blog articles on the Overcoming Schizophrenia blog. His articles offer great insight on managing wellbeing and also provides supporting links and information.

The following articles were also written by Adam:

8 Mental Health Tips for Living With Schizophrenia (January 18, 2023)

Get through These Major Life Changes While Living With Schizophrenia (October 26, 2022)

For Addicts Recovery Means Creating A New Life (November 21, 2019)

Image via Pexels

Although mental health disorders and low self-esteem are not exclusive to one another, there is a profound connection. As a person living with schizophrenia, you owe it to yourself to make a conscious effort to improve your self-esteem so that you can be in a better mental state to best manage your condition.

Today, the Overcoming Schizophrenia blog shares tips.

Understanding Self-Esteem

According to UK-based mental health charity Mind, self-esteem is essentially how we perceive ourselves. Your self-esteem has an impact on many areas of your life, including being able to recognize your strengths and make better decisions. When you feel better about yourself, you’ll make choices that help you live a healthier and happier life.

How to Improve Self-Esteem

While self-esteem is something we must all focus on individually, there are some universal steps we can take to help mold a better self-image.

Taking your medication.

As someone living with schizophrenia, you may have done things that hurt you or the ones you love. As this blog has discussed before, however, the negative actions you take may be controlled by taking your medication. Even if your loved ones understand that you have a mental health condition, your behaviors can still hurt, and the hurt you inflict upon others can make you feel bad about yourself.

Having a party.

If you’re feeling down, plan a little get together. Having people around you that love you is a great way to see yourself as others do. Consider scheduling a monthly get together, and go all out with the planning. Start with an invitation, which you can make with a ready-made template (you can try this). Use your own pictures, icons, colors, fonts, and more to set the mood for a themed gathering.

Doing things you love.

Do things that you enjoy and that you are good at. Even if you don’t know what you like, learning a new skill has benefits. The Upskilled blog explains that engaging in new activities helps improve brain health, boosts happiness levels, and can foster connections with others.

Focusing on your physical health.

There is an undeniable connection between our mental and physical health. Each can affect the other in profound ways. By prioritizing your physical health by eating well, exercising, and getting enough sleep, you may be in a better mental place to keep your self-esteem on the pedestal it deserves. And keeping your self-esteem intact may even keep you from experiencing chronic diseases later in life.

Visiting a therapist.

Even if you’re already being treated for your schizophrenia, talk therapy can help you overcome the patterns of negative self-talk that keep you in a dark place. A therapist can help you let go of blame and help you recognize when you’re rehashing scenarios from the past that are not relevant to today.

Letting go of toxic influences.

Toxic influences are those that make us feel less than the best versions of ourselves. The toxic people in your life could be anyone from your friends and family to your boss at a job you hate. While making changes and cutting ties can be scary, it’s also a highly empowering move that can help you see just how much control you have over yourself and your surroundings.

Self-esteem is crucial for mental and physical well-being just as mental and physical well-being are essential for self-esteem. It is a reciprocal and continually evolving relationship that requires intention on your part. Simple steps, from inviting friends to a party to letting go of toxic influences, can all have a profound effect on your self-esteem and allow you to make better decisions that help you control and maintain your mental and physical health today and every day.

Additional resources on mental health and substance abuse recovery: https://addictionhub.org/

No, Please, That's Not Me

Prior to my diagnosis of paranoid schizophrenia I did some things that I am not proud of. Now that I look back on things I blame my illness for my poor judgment. I am by no means condoning the behavior I carried out, and will share with you here. I will provide a few instances where my behavior was unlike me and caused an uproar. This post shows how schizophrenia affects other people. This post is for the family members and friends of people with schizophrenia, or showing bizarre behaviors. First, I asked my mother permission to give my friend a statue that was in my mother's house. My mother agreed to give my friend the statue, however, I took her permission a step further to get rid of what she had at my discretion. At the time I did not live with my mother who was away on a business trip. My mother buys and sells things so she had a lot of collectibles, antiques, and other interesting stuff. While my friend and me were in my mother's house my friend saw a lot of stuff that s

What Is Remission?

Remission is the absence of symptoms for at least six months with the support of medication. In other words, a doctor who has never seen you before may not diagnose you as a person with schizophrenia anymore. Remission is also high functioning in several aspects of life, living independently, goinig to school or to work, and socializing with other people. However, this does not mean the patient is cured or the illness has went away, the illness is still present, however, under control. Remission is achieved with the assistance of medication. "Published studies suggest that 10% to 20% of people with schizophrenia have remission of their illness as they get older, 20% get worse, but in a large majority (60% to 70%), the course of illness remains relatively unchanged." To reach remission it is recommended that you aim for a stress-free environment. Therefore, do things to relieve stress such as journaling, exercising, talking to friends, listening to or creating music, making a

by A Guest Blogger: For Addicts, Recovery Means Creating a New Life

If you’re struggling to maintain your sobriety, you aren’t alone. There are millions of fighters just like you working toward reclaiming their lives from drugs and alcohol. There are a few common traits that many successful recovering addicts share. Keep reading to find out what they are and how you can follow in their footsteps. They establish new patterns You can’t continue to live your life the same was you did when you were using. You must change and adapt to your newfound sobriety. Consider a career change; many recovering addicts find they have more success by starting their own business. One career that is easy to enter is dog walking. As a dog walker , you’ll reap many rewards including getting to spend time with dogs, which can actually boost your recovery efforts and stave off depression. Dogs have been used as part of a treatment plan for users as young as 11 and come with the added benefit of helping you stay physically active. Plus, being with

Ashley Smith said…

Hi Adam,

This was a great article and subject to tackle. The stigma of living with a diagnosis can be tough on an individual's self-esteem. I like your perspective on strategies to enhance one's self-esteem. Letting go of toxic influences was my favorite on your list. I've learned I do better with true friends than a bunch of associates. THANK YOU.

Warm regards,
Ashley Smith, Blog Author of Overcoming Schizophrenia

September 8, 2023 at 3:15 PM

Overcoming Schizophrenia

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