With the rise of social media, there’s been lots of talk about its effect on mental health, especially how it seems to make us feel inferior to others. Research has shown that those who do compare themselves to their friends online tend to experience feelings of envy and can have a negative impact on their own self-confidence.
With many spending even more time online at the moment, we’ve put together some things that you can do to boost your self-confidence and shake away those feelings of jealousy and sadness.
Stop Comparing
This is easier said than done, but the first step to boosting your confidence is to stop comparing yourself to other people. You shouldn’t care what other people think about you and vice versa, but try to remember that what you see online isn’t always a true representation of that person’s life. When you catch yourself comparing, remind yourself that life isn’t a competition and that everyone is on their own path to achieve different goals. Focus on your own happiness, do what you love and you’ll soon stop worrying about anyone else.
Look After Your Body
Missing meals or hours of sleep will have a negative impact on how you feel about yourself so aim for eight hours of sleep and three meals a day. On the flip side, getting up in the morning, putting yourself together and starting the day on a positive note is a great way of giving yourself some extra self-confidence. Wearing a nice outfit or doing your hair and makeup in a way that makes you feel confident is a great way of doing this – whether it’s your favourite heels or a bright red jacket, you’ll notice that you hold yourself in a completely different way.
Exercising has also been proven to release endorphins that make you happier, so try to fit in an activity that makes you slightly breathless at least three times during the week.
Be Kind to Yourself
Practising a bit of self-compassion can be really effective when it comes to boosting confidence. Beating yourself up for getting things wrong or making a mistake can often be demoralising and leave you feeling unmotivated so try and catch yourself doing this and change the way you speak to yourself. Treat yourself like you would treat a friend, being kind and thinking of advice that you would give to someone else if they were you. This way you may realise how harsh you are being on yourself and may start to feel a little more confident in your abilities.
Start Saying No
People with low self-esteem are often quick to agree to things that they would rather not do. If you are one of these people, give yourself permission to say no to situations that you would rather avoid. You will probably find that this is taken better than you thought and that people will not think worse of you. You may also find that you start to feel less stressed. Slowly but surely you will become more assertive in life with increased self-confidence.
Positive People
Surround yourself with people that bring out the best in you. If there is a person or group of people that drain your energy or make you feel bad about yourself, spend less time with them. Nobody should make you feel that way and you are more than entitled to tell them how they are making you feel. Being around people that make you feel comfortable and happy will boost your self-esteem in no time.
There are many other ways to increase your self-confidence and it’s always important to talk to friends and family when you are feeling down. We hope that you’ve found these tips useful – let us know how you got on in the comments below.
