Teenage Self Esteem

To the Hive, 
​How do I talk to a teenage girl who has an unrealistic negative attitude about herself? She thinks she is ugly and has a bad personality and people don’t like her. None of that is true.
                                                                             ​                                                                                     ​                                - Mary 

To Mary,
In this day and age with technology there are a lot of challenges growing up including the model representation of how girls and women “should look,” even though those beauty goals are extremely unrealistic. No matter where her thoughts of self deprecation come from, it is always important to know that she has a support system to tell her how beautiful and smart she is. You said that she believes she thinks she has a bad personality and people don’t like her. In this case both can be proved wrong. Merely show her people who love her, as I’m sure you do, and when she is having a good moment with friends, make sure she sees that she does have people who enjoy her company. It is so easy to get stuck down the rabbit hole of negative thoughts like this and it's especially easy to pile on when you are already having a bad day. Just make sure she’s not only focused on when she’s having a bad time, and remembers when she’s having a good time too. Make sure to keep an eye on her, to notice any changes in eating patterns or in sleep patterns as these can be signs of something more serious. We offer plenty of resources on our website under “Psychoeducation,” “Good Reads,” and “tedTalks.”
​                                                                                     ​                                                                                     ​              Be Well,
​                                                                                     ​                                                                                     ​                       The Hive