Confidence and Self-Esteem

The more I read about the many psychological issues that people with IBS experience, the more the subject of confidence and self-esteem come up. IBS saps your strength. IBS does things to your body that are very uncomfortable and not what most of us would consider…uh…attractive. We may begin to feel better about ourselves once an episode passes, only to be flattened again the next time the fires flare. What I have found is that it is really important to remember who you are during all of this. This is where we find our strength and with that strength, we find confidence and self-esteem. What are you? Are you IBS? No, you are so, so many other things. With that said, let’s try to rediscover ourselves, in an effort to find our confidence and self-esteem once again.

Mr. positive & Mr. feel sorry for myself

After I started dealing with IBS as a regular part of my life, I started to believe I was two people. Not actually, but psychologically. There was the ‘I’ve been through so much in my life, I’m not going to let this ruin me, what can I do to heal’ guy. I like him; he’s helpful :-). THEN, there was the, ‘Oh, my God, is this happening again?', 'How am I going to hide this from my girlfriend?', 'How am I going to keep my clients at work from noticing?’, guy. This guy; not helpful. What I started doing was trying to figure out how I could bring back Mr. Positive, Mr. Confident when the Mr. Feel Sorry For Myself started to appear. Where was Mr. Positive? Well, he wasn’t far. Know why? Cause’ he’s ME. That’s right. He’s is my Mother’s son, my Sister’s brother…the person I was born to be. If it is not easy for you to find your inner lion or if your true self is not so much the aggressive sort…this is ok. Everyone has their own brand of strength and ways to cope with the difficult times. What are your strengths? What does the BEST YOU look like? This is not about looking back to when you were ‘in your prime’. If you are currently in your ‘prime’, God bless ya…mine’s about twenty years passed. Anyhoo…it’s about the best you today. Are you are a father, a mother, sister or brother? Are you a doctor, lawyer or Native American Chief? Are you are a gardener, a spiritual person, a weightlifter, a runner, a reader, writer, musician? Are you a gamer? Do you like puzzles? It doesn’t matter…as long as it is the natural you.

Search for confidence

Generally, theories about self-esteem and confidence focus on the amount of perceived acceptance or rejection we experience within our daily lives. It is important to improve self-esteem and confidence to allow you to make more connections to the world around you and to receive the good feeling that others can provide. I do believe, however, that your self-esteem need not be dependent on what other’s think of you or what you perceive they think. Self-esteem can be grown all by yourself. It’s about recognizing your God given strengths and finding pride in the individual you are, with or without illness, with or without struggle. So look inwards and find the confident guy or girl. Don’t you like them better anyway?