Low Self-Esteem/Lack of Confidence

TESTIMONIALS

CBT for Social Anxiety and Self-esteem

Before I met Sarah I was struggling with a very stressful new job, also a move to another part of the country. I felt very upset, but Sarah was very easy to talk to and she helped me to understand I had symptoms of social anxiety, causing me to excessively worry about and avoid social situations.

We used a variety of techniques, including CBT, ACT and EMDR, to help me deal with my social anxiety.  Sarah also helped me to work on identifying and stepping back from my emotions, rather than getting too wound up in them. This, along with meditation and techniques like RAIN, gave me really useful tools to help me understand and live with my emotions rather than fighting against them.

I now feel like I have a much healthier relationship with my own thoughts and emotions, and am much more confident to face everyday troubles and to deal with stressful situations. I’m very grateful for Sarah’s help!

(Female, age 37)

CBT and EMDR for low self-esteem and social anxiety

I was feeling overwhelmed and had lost any ability to focus both professionally, and in my personal life. I was not thinking or behaving as I normally would and was catastrophising, with an inability to focus on anything. I had been experiencing some difficult life events and felt unable to cope, which triggered feelings of low self-esteem.  I had been signed off work. 

I had arranged to meet Sarah for a in person face to face session but to due COVID-19 social distancing we decided to have sessions via Zoom. I found it was still really engaging and supportive. 

It emerged through our sessions that I had social anxiety due to a past trauma in a difficult relationship, and that my social anxiety and low self-esteem were contributing to my overall sense of stress and being overwhelmed. 

Through sessions with Sarah involving both CBT and EMDR I have found that my social anxiety has gone, and my sense of self esteem and confidence has improved dramatically. I don’t just feel like I’m back to being myself again, I feel like I am an improved version of myself, equipped with a toolkit of creative resources I can use. Learning how to control the focus of my attention has been particularly impactful in my professional life.  Releasing the past trauma through EMDR has had a positive and life-changing impact on my self-esteem.

The person I was when I first spoke to Sarah is so different to the person I am now, and the journey has been an incredibly positive one. I now find myself excited for the future and embracing new challenges. 

(Virtual sessions, female aged 41, July 2020)

CBT and EMDR for self-esteem and confidence

With a "normal" background and family, I didn't have "big issues" to solve, but "just" the consequences of a pretty stubborn low self esteem. A lot of reading on the subject wasn't enough to convince me that I was really worth much. The repercussions on my professional and personal life were becoming unbearable, resulting in excessive stress and in a pervasive lack of hope for the future. Despite still feeling doubtful on the outcome, I gave therapy my last and most determined shot.

I'm happy to say that I made it! A combination of CBT, EMDR, pure listening and a solid determination to succeed, unlocked the traumas buried in forgotten corners of myself. Now I feel new. I have another chance at being happy and I’m determined to keep building on this, with a "resuscitated" passion for life fuelling my interests and a new found, balanced self-confidence supporting me all the way, through future successes and failures.

My personal opinion? Given the appropriate aptitude and the right tools, ALL issues can at least be improved. "Never, never, never give up!" 

Male (aged 30)

EMDR for self-esteem

I found EMDR really effective in helping me build my self-esteem back up after going through a recent difficult situation, which reopened old wounds and left me doubting myself.

For me there were key moments in the therapy when I felt real positive shifts, where I thought, “Wow, where did that come from?" The therapy moved along at a good pace and I felt I was progressing.

Female (aged 44)

EMDR for self-esteem and anxiety

When I came for therapy I was very anxious, easily upset, lacking in confidence and had low self-esteem. I felt that no one really liked me. I was also sleeping badly.  Overall I had tried to cope in my life, but it always felt like I was trying really hard to cope. I was continually over-compensating; for example, I would try too hard to be friends with people and to be too nice.  I was thinking that others would like me if I did that but generally it had the opposite effect.

My parents had neglected me emotionally and physically. They were not there for me. I had always thought that if my parents didn’t like me then other people wouldn’t.

We used EMDR to work on a few old memories. Even though when we first started working on a specific memory I felt really upset, within a relatively short time the memory was no longer upsetting. There was something about watching the green lights on the EMDR light box whilst processing the memories that was really powerful.  I could feel a shift happening: I realised deep within me that it was not my fault and my beliefs about myself started to change.

Now I have stopped over-compensating. I am getting on much better with friends and work-colleagues. I look at life more positively. Overall I now take things within my stride when they come up. I am feeling much more confident and my self-esteem has increased. I can feel that people really do like me and I believe people’s compliments about me. I am not worrying as much. I am sleeping much better.

Female (aged 44)

EMDR for very low self-esteem and self-belief

I have had self-doubts and very low self-esteem from an early age. Through EMDR I am improving my self-esteem. Already I have noticed I am more able to stand up for myself in certain situations where in the past I would have let people walk over me. In other situations when it is not appropriate for me to fight my corner, I can rationalize how I feel. I am no longer overwhelmed with as much anxiety and pain. I am in a better place to rationalize and control my thought processes and emotions.  

I would like to explain a little about EMDR and how it worked for me. Using a specific process, we were able to trace back to a significant early memory when I had felt rejected. We worked on this using EMDR and gradually it felt like something was changing inside of me without me having to consciously do it. It was fascinating to feel the change within me. I want to emphasize it did not feel like dragging up the past and going over and over it for the sake of it. It was different because I could feel myself processing it almost without trying.

Throughout the EMDR treatment Sarah was supportive and inspirational. She guided me through the process. I found her warm and I am grateful to her for all the work we have done together.

I look forward to continuing to develop my self-esteem and self-belief further now that I have finished therapy. Having eliminated the distress from that early memory, I feel I can proceed fully with my life.

Female (aged 43)

EMDR for a crisis and self-esteem

I feel a totally different person. I started therapy following a crisis and at the time I felt worthless, a failure and I had low self-esteem. I felt unlovable as a person. Now I know that not to be true. I feel lovable, worthwhile and a better person. I can hold my head up high. I believe the EMDR treatment is responsible for this.

Female (aged 52)