Everyone has their own personal struggles, flaws and insecurities being common ones. Sometimes it’s hard to face the realization that no one is perfect, and you have to  accept the fact that everyone struggles with their own personal issues.

You’d be surprised on how many people you surround yourself with everyday hate their appearance and continue to knock themselves down for it. Stats even show in an article presented by the known soap company Dove that 71% of teen girls have low self-esteem and feel as if their appearance doesn’t measure up to expectations. The question you might be asking yourself however is why do teens, especially girls, feel this way?

Some might be from society’s expectations, comparing yourself to others, or maybe a continuing at-home situation. One reason that many don’t think of, however, is how dealing with anxiety leads to lack of self confidence or vise versa. In a questionnaire sent out to various people, many opened up, explaining their experiences towards dealing with anxiety and how lack of self-confidence goes hand in hand.

“I do think anxiety can lead to a lack of self confidence, because when you don’t know what’s going to happen, you usually think of the worst case scenarios or the most negative things that could happen, which can bring up negative thoughts about yourself. Those make the insecurities stronger and the cycle continues,” an anonymous teen stated.

The feeling of anxiety can make people overthink things, stress way out of proportion, or generally just dislike themselves. Sometimes when you feel anxiety, you’ll start to knock yourself down and belittle everything you do. There’s countless amounts of insecurities people deal with on a daily basis. Whether it’s from someone’s size, skin color, or acne. The reasons are almost endless. Common ones I seemed to find in a poll was size and acne, due to constantly comparing themselves to social media influencers, models, and even their own friends. These insecurities can last a whole lifetime.

“Yes, I’ve been insecure about myself because of my body and because I’m not very pretty, and it is one of the worst feelings in the world. It makes me afraid to post a picture of myself, take pictures with other people or even go to friends’ birthday parties or other gatherings, and if I do, I have to be wearing makeup or else I feel like I’m embarrassing myself,” an anonymous person says.

“I definitely have felt insecure about myself on multiple occasions. When I feel insecure, I feel vulnerable. I have always been insecure about how skinny I have to be compared to these girls on Instagram or how perfect my skin has to look. Moments I do however realize that comparison is the most horrible thing you can do,” an unnamed teen said.

Overcoming these mental health struggles and accepting insecurities you might have is challenging. There are many amounts of ways to redeem your self-confidence back. Just know that whatever it is you might be going through, you’re not alone.

“The best advice I can give someone going through a cycle of insecurity is to learn to separate your physical appearance from your worth and why people like you. If you struggle with loving yourself physically, learn to appreciate the other things about you that you like, such as your intelligence, trustworthiness, kindness, passion for a sport, music, etc. This will help you focus positive energy inward. Being more introspective and putting effort into learning more and caring for yourself is ultimately what will help you learn to see your own worth,” a teen who deals with anxiety advised.

https://open.spotify.com/user/ellie.swimmer.12/playlist/2ELTsudhlYF2FhqOGnMdzg?si=4QR60gZDRJWw9TLCi2EwlQ