Self esteem,self development and self awareness

• Self-development involves actively working on improving ourselves through learning new skills, setting goals, and taking action towards achieving them.
• Self-awareness


  Knowing how you are feeling both physically and mentally, and being able to understand and explain why you are behaving in a certain way
• Self-esteem


  The way you think and feel about yourself. Do you like yourself?
• Self-confidence


  How you believe and trust in yourself
• Self-development


  Setting and working towards reaching your goals of self-improvement
• Your self-awareness, self-esteem and self-development may be influenced by different people, experiences and the media
• Keeping a journal


  1. Record your experiences

  2. Write about your feelings

  3. Reflect on your learning
• Knowing how you are feeling, both physically and mentally, and being able to understand and explain why you are behaving in a certain way is called being self-aware
• Self-esteem


  • Thinking part: thinking about the person we are now and the person we would like to be
  • Feeling part: the emotions we feel as we think
  • Behaving part: what we do as a result of the way we think and feel
• Self-awareness


  Closely linked to self-esteem. People who are self-aware usually have a healthy self-esteem and are self-confident
• Four parts of self-esteem

  • Sense of belonging
  • Sense of control
  • Sense of worthiness
  • Sense of dignity
• If any of these four areas is weak or lacking, our self-esteem becomes lower
• People who influence our self-esteem


  • Families
  • Friends
  • Teachers
  • Coaches
  • People in our places of worship
  • Role models
• The media may have a negative impact on people's self-confidence and self-esteem
• Photographs of women are sometimes manipulated to make them look better
• Photographs of men are usually changed to make them look taller and more muscular
• Past experiences are important in the development of self-esteem
• Traumatic or bad experiences don't automatically lead to a lower self-esteem. These experiences can challenge us, teach us coping strategies and empower us
• Strategies to build self-confidence


  • Communication: Expressing yourself clearly, listening carefully and reading body language
  • Assertiveness: Standing up for your rights and beliefs
  • Goal-setting: Setting and working towards achievable goals
  • Positive thinking: Focusing on your strengths and successes
• In a balanced relationship people have equal power
• In an unbalanced relationship, the person with more power has the ability to dominate the other person
• The person with less power will often believe that the person with more power is better at making decisions and more important than they are
• The person with less power may ask for the other person's opinion on something before they make a decision
• The person with less power may feel that they have less value as a person, and their self-esteem decreases
• Power is an important factor in sexual abuse and rape
• Rapists do not respect the rights of others. They are often people who feel powerless and commit rape in order to feel powerful
• Usually, the victims of sexual abuse and rape are girls and women
• Girls and women who are forced into sex may have to deal with emotional and physical trauma, pregnancy, and sexually transmitted infections
• Ships without either person dominating the other. Men and women are free to choose careers and sport without having to worry about whether they are masculine or feminine enough.
• Gender inequality


  Unbalanced relationship where the partner who feels dominated and controlled may be unhappy, have a low self-esteem and is likely to be less physically healthy
• Power is an important factor in sexual abuse and rape. People commit rape because they believe they have the right to force sex on another person, or because they want power over that person. Rapists do not respect the rights of others. They are often people who feel powerless and commit rape in order to feel powerful. Usually, the victims of these crimes are girls and women.
• Girls and women who are forced into sex may have to deal with emotional and physical trauma from the abuse or rape, pregnancy (and the difficult decision as to what to do about it), STI's (Sexually Transmitted Infections), and HIV/Aids.
• The HIV/Aids statistics show that more women are infected than men. There are two main reasons for this. Firstly, it is biologically easier for a woman to be infected during sex. The vagina is made up of much softer tissue than the penis. Secondly, due to gender inequalities, a woman is more likely to be forced or pressured into sex than a man. The rape of women is a lot more common than that of men.
• Rape or physical assault survivor needs

  1. Medical attention

  2. Debriefing (emergency trauma counseling to help the survivor to adjust to normal life as soon as possible)
• The shorter the time span between the assault and the treatment, the more successful the treatment will be.
• The survivor should insist on a full medical examination, preferably by the District Surgeon. This is essential for a criminal case.
• They may need medication to prevent contracting Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs), anti-retroviral medication to minimise the chances of contracting HIV and the morning-after pill to prevent pregnancy.
• Trauma counselling is very important for recovery. This will take time, but with regular counselling, depression and anxiety will be decreased and eventually it will disappear.
• South Africa has a high level of violent crime, such as assault, sexual abuse, rape and murder. Sadly, violent crimes against women and children are exceptionally high.
• Violent crime often increases as economic difficulties increase. When people are experiencing hardship or stress they may lose their tempers and react violently.