This book covers:
- how to recognize whether you have low self-esteem by giving examples, but also pointing out unique identifiers
- what you can do to increase your self-esteem, with a list of many exercises and activities to pique your interest
- causes of low self-esteem and how to deal with them, accept them, or avoid them (whichever the case might be for you)
- a roadmap of how to accept yourself the way you are and also how to manage your life in a way that builds your sense of self-worth
- behavioral signs you may display in your relationships with other people, including, friendships, romantic relationships, and work relationships
Alright, now that I’ve given you a brief overview, let me talk about the more technical aspects of this book. The narrator has a strong, clear, yet soothing voice, and the choice of having a woman with a medium-toned voice narrate also provided a rather soothing listening experience that I very much appreciated. The delivery was smooth, and, despite the listening material, it was almost like listening to a story.
Now that that’s done, let’s get to the meat of this psychological sandwich. Despite this book being categorized as “self-help”, which I feel always gives off the social stigma that if you need help, something must be wrong with you, the author is very sure to comfort the reader by repeating often that building your self-worth is good for you and that you are doing yourself the best favor anyone could ever perform by learning to love yourself.
It is personal. You’re going to start thinking about all of those things you hide in the dark places in your mind: the nightmares you have from a fear of failure, physical or emotional trauma, tragedies, and just really sucky experiences. But don’t be afraid, Dr. Alison will be there to lead you through that darkness and to help you build (or rebuild) your sense of self, block by block.
One of the things I think benefited me the most was when she pointed out signs someone may exhibit who has lost their sense of self-worth. She does this by giving before/after examples, like, “Susan used to ride her bike 5 times a week, but after she lost her job, she stopped riding.” I used this example from my own life, as I felt that these words were really speaking to me (I haven’t ridden my bike in… a ridiculous amount of time, but I used to love riding.) I never thought of giving up activities I loved as a sign of a loss of self-worth and now, since listening to this, I feel more aware of my own behavior.
Let me not forget to mention self-love. Though many examples of self-love are given, Alison also tells her listeners that in order for an activity to be considered self-love, you actually have to love it. One of the most amusing examples she gave was, “If you don’t like long baths, don’t take long baths.” I actually laughed then, because I’m more of a five-minute shower sort of person, the idea of sitting in a tub for a long period of time and being inactive kind of makes me itch, which brings me to another point.
You have to make time to take care of yourself. You have to make time to take care of yourself. YOU HAVE TO MAKE TIME TO TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF.
You are worthy of spending time doing something that makes you feel good, that serves no other purpose than to entertain, relax, or de-stress. Practicing this kind of self-love means you are dedicating time and effort to worship the amazing person that you are.
Good luck on your personal journeys everyone! Remember, you are worthy of love. <3 <3
Join me on more talks about self-love on Bamboo Cocoon and health.
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