My self-esteem and self confidence have never been high, but there are times when they go even lower. I've finally figured out that my worst depressive periods are effectively a direct result of circumstances in which my self-esteem takes a hit. I find myself failing in relationships, career, pretty well anything important to me, and those external markers wreak havoc with my sense of self. I know I should be able to generate self-esteem and confidence internally and not based on externals… read more

I am convinced that my problems as an adult stem from the possible trauma I may have faced as a child and that my low self-esteem may be improved if I can heal from these traumas and reconnect with my inner child. The more I read about childhood development, the more I am convinced that most of our problems stem from our childhood experiences and could be eradicated if we identify and heal our childhood wounds.

I know how crazy this sounds but there must be some truth to it if most of our… read more

I don't consider feeling sad about something bad that happened depression. That is a normal response to something. To me depression is feeling bad when I don't really have a reason to. Or feeling too bad about something that happened. Too bad for too long.

What causes that? Why do I react differently than other people?

I have certain problem behaviors that seem most prominent when I'm at extremes of feeling, massively high or low.

But these behaviours only increase my problems even further, thus increasing the spiral worse and worse.

What do you do to break this?

This is a cycle of depression I have suffered since my childhood, same problems involved for nearly 30 years.

I worry its too late, or they are too ingrained now to change.

im stuck in the situation where i feel like im not good enough, and that im not really that beautiful. Any helpful tips to try and make myself seem a little better?

I also feel as if I am paranoid to a much greater degree. This paranoia also affects my self-esteem. Any input is appreciated!

Hoping to hear from others with similar experiences. My mother used to hit me as a baby and toddler whenever I cried. I learned to stop crying and freeze. There was other stuff too. Decades later, I still only feel truly safe with animals, not people. So the trauma came before the depression.

Do you separate your PTSD symptoms from depression or is it all one big challenge? How do you deal with trust issues? Any success stories?