BYL EPISODE TWO: HOW FAMILY RELATIONSHIPS, ECONOMIC SITUATIONS AND HEALTH AFFECT SELF-ESTEEM

Every human wants and desires a sense of belonging and acceptance among other people; peers, families and the society. However, when we do not feel accepted or get the sense of belonging we desire, we tend to become withdrawn from other people.  A major effect of not being accepted the way we are is withdrawal from friends, social gatherings, and even personal activities. Another effect of these actions triggered by unhealthy comments from other people is that we unconsciously and gradually begin to lose our individual self-worth and self-confidence.

This episode of ‘Blackie, yam-leg and lefty’ shares stories of people who explain the bad experiences and self-esteem challenges they had as teenagers and how they eventually conquered. It also gives insight to the impact of  low self-esteem challenges caused by peer pressure, body-shamming, parental neglect and the likes. Some of the stories shared in this episode were centered on the influence of peer pressure which led to the individuals involved being withdrawn from people at that time.

They individually explain the lifestyle they had in their various homes while growing up, the challenges they encountered and its effect on their standard of living at that time. The individual stories revolve around financial issues, misconceptions about health status, parental neglect, family background and the impact of these challenges.

Most of the young adults shared the negative experiences they had and how it affected their self-esteem, self-worth and confidence among their peers. Some of such challenges include depression and loneliness. One way these young adults were able to regain their self-confidence was being defensive, through self-talk, parental support and ignoring unhealthy jokes from peers.

Although, the personal experiences shared by these adults in this episode occurred in their teenage years, the impact of those teenage experiences have somewhat left  a void in some of them.

Furthermore, this episode also gives us insight of the impact of negative comments on people’s physique and how it could cause long-term damage on their self-esteem and self-worth.