ABSTRACT
Poor self-esteem brings a sense of uselessness and incompetence. People with low self-esteem can exhibit a variety of behaviours. They can lack confidence which results in nagging self-doubt, suffer from occasional self-pity and have difficulty in sustaining meaningful relationships with others. On the other hand, they can be loud, opinionated and bossy, covering up their sense of inadequacy with dominating behaviour. Such people often protect themselves from hurt by being aggressive and 'putting other people down', or withdrawing into a lonely 'shell'. Secretly they regard themselves as a failure or as totally misunderstood and think everyone else is more successful than they are. This negative thinking results in a pattern of behaviour which becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy and ensures that they continue to fail.
