Learning to Live Again

Low self-esteem - it is a problem many women face. Stalking victims often feel a sense that they are to blame for what happened to them. This leads to lower self-esteem. How can you trust yourself to make critical judgments when you feel like you've failed in the past? It's not easy, but it can be done!

There are several ways to enhance your self-esteem. You can first begin by staring in the mirror. Take a good long look. The person staring back at you has made mistakes, yes, but that person also has a need to be forgiven. The first step to good self-esteem is to forgive yourself for past failures. If you believe in God, then pray and ask God to forgive you for any past mistakes you have made. Since God will forgive you, why do you think you shouldn't forgive yourself?

Second, read all you can on developing self-esteem. There are many good books out there. If you do a search on the Internet, you will find many web sites devoted to helping you develop your self-esteem.

Third, volunteer! The best way to enhance your self-esteem is to serve someone else. Try working with the elderly or children. They appreciate it so much. The inner glow that you feel will help you grow more assured of your self worth.

Fourth, keep a journal. Write down all your feelings - what bothers you, what holds you back, what you like, what you hate. Writing your feelings down gives you power over them.

Fifth, write a letter. Write a letter to your stalker. Tell him/her how he or she stole your sense of security. Tell them how they ruined that part of your life. Let every emotion you feel drip onto the paper. Let yourself bleed out all the negative feelings that you have. Done? Good. Now burn it. And as your burn the letter, visualize yourself letting go of the past and grabbing hold of your future.

Finally, if all else fails, seek a certified counselor for help. A counselor is trained to help guide you along the path to recovering your self-esteem.

Building your self-esteem is a process, a journey - it's not instantaneous! Give yourself time to rebuild your life.

God bless you on your journey, Kristie

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