Self-esteem in a Post Modern World
In a world where affirmation can be found in so many places, it seems surprising that self-esteem and self-worth would still be a struggle for most people. Maybe not all of us, but many of us were told as a child by parents, teachers, and disney that we could achieve anything we put our mind to and we could be anything we wanted to be. And if you didn't hear it from them, you most certainly heard it from other cultural influences.
As an adult, these affirmations can be found in other sources - sexuality, love, work, sports, you name it. And despite it all, we still seem to be a people plagued by problems of depression, anxiety, and low self-esteem. As more psychological problems surface, many embark in search for a cure. The rise of self-help books and pop psychology seems to say as much. And most of the time, the cure ends up sounding something like this: You need to love yourself and have confidence in who you are - only you can make yourself happy. Given our individualistic culture, a culture that values independence and self-sufficiency above dependence on others, this idea does not come as a surpise. And in some ways, the idea makes sense. If the problem is an internal one, it would seem logical to look within yourself to fix it. But for so many reasons, I feel that this is actually the wrong place to look.
