This episode of ‘Blackie, yam-leg and lefty’ shares stories of challenges adults encounter in the society as they interact with other people and engage in their individual activities. It gives insight to societal issues such as domestic violence, dysfunctional family setting, child sexual abuse, family history of mental illness that affects the mental health of individuals involved.
Quite a number of young adults go through challenges which revolve around mental health issues that could negatively affect their overall well-being and their relationship with other people. Some of these challenges are caused by pressure from friends, relatives and strangers.
There is likelihood to encounter pressure during adulthood that might lead to self-rejection, emotional break down and social withdrawal. This pressure is usually triggered by the lifestyles of other people. Consequently, the individuals who encounter this pressure subconsciously begin to live according to the standards of other people’s lives.
This episode gives insights on strategies that could be incorporated to defeat these challenges we encounter as we sojourn through life.
One of the stories shared in this episode highlights the experiences of a young woman who narrated her experience as a freshman in the university. She mentioned patience and advice from an older sibling as some of the ways to deal with pressure among peers in higher institutions. Having stated the certainty of pressure and how it’s getting worse, she mentioned self-acceptance as an effective strategy to overcome pressure.
Another experience shared in this episode gives insight to the impact of parental care and concern on the overall well-being on their children. Some of the concerns and show of care narrated by the young adult involved getting appropriate books from her dad, relationship guidance and the level of confidence her dad helped her to build during her teenage years.
LIKELY TRIGGERS OF A SENSE OF LOW-SELF ESTEEM
Studies have shown that half of mental illnesses among teenagers start before the age of 14 and two thirds before age 24.
There are quite a number of triggers of a sense of low self-esteem among teenagers which are categorized as predisposing risk factors of mental illness.
Some of these risk factors of mental illnesses include:
- Death of a parent or both parents of a child: There is a likelihood of a child who loses his/her parent to live with a relative or a guardian who becomes a foster parent of that child. The sudden change of environment affects the well-being of that child and could cause a sense of low self-esteem.
- Dysfunctional family setting: There is a standard of an ideal family that affects the well-being of every member of that family. When this standard it compromised, it leads to a dysfunctional family setting that affects the self-esteem of children of that family. A dysfunctional family is characterized by lack of communication or ineffective communication, substance abuse, addiction neglect, toxic parenting and the likes.
- Domestic violence: Domestic violence involves coercive behaviors that could be physical abuse, sexual abuse, emotional or psychological abuse against a spouse, a child or an immediate family member. A child who is consistently exposed to domestic violence in the family tends to develop a sense of low-self esteem.
- Child Abuse: Child abuse could be any form of violence or maltreatment at a child. A child who is constantly maltreated tends to have a sense of low self-esteem because he/she has been exposed to inhumane conditions that could make the child feel less of his/herself.
It is important and necessary for an individual to ask oneself introspective questions in order to discover oneself and set personal standards for his/her life. Having an introspection of oneself helps us understand our strengths and weaknesses which enables us to make rational decisions whenever we encounter challenges in life.
