Low self esteem.
Low self esteem can be seen to stem from negative thoughts about oneself, this often comes by way of ‘negative programming’ from a significant other/s at some time in your life, often in childhood.

These negative views of the self and it's relationship with the world (known as a schema) which may have remained inactive for many years, can make us view ourselves and the situations we find ourselves in, in a negative light, or just not view ourselves in a positive light - this then tends to reinforce the schema in a vicious circle.

The first step in increasing self esteem is to do away with this past negative programming, we can then work on improving self projection, increasing our confidence in positive areas and changing our perspective to the challenges we face in life.

This work can be done on a number of different levels, often hypnotherapists use what are known as ego strengthening scripts. These help us to reprogram the way we feel about ourselves without delving into the past. They can be a very effective way of helping us to perceive life in a more positive way, many therapists include these sort of suggestions with all clients regardless of the presenting issue.

There is also a connection with physical relaxation,  mental calmness and confidence. If you think about it you can’t have one without the others also being present. Hence it is very hard to relax physically when you’re stressed, but when your body is relaxed your mind is naturally calm and confidence results.

We can also focus directly on thought patterns, learning how to think realistically, not allowing ourselves to enter the spirals of negative thinking.

Sometimes a client may have a feeling that the problem stems from a certain events in the past and we may decide to deal with it through regression work. This can be carried out safely in the therapeutic environment allowing the client to move on free from the burden of the past.