6 Deep and Lasting Ways to Improve Your Self-Esteem

Therapy in a Nutshell

Therapy in a Nutshell -Emma McAdam

Mental Health, Health & Fitness, Education, Health & Fitness:mental Health, Self-improvement

4.8 • 657 Ratings

🗓️ 17 October 2025

⏱️ 16 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Boost self-esteem with 6 practices to transform self-talk, build self-worth, and align your life with purpose, integrity, and authentic confidence. 👉 Download my free Values Clarification exercise here: https://courses.therapyinanutshell.com/opt-in-2123fb37-7322-4208-a65a-2b135a653d47 Learn the skills to Regulate your Emotions, join the membership: https://courses.therapyinanutshell.com/membership Low self-esteem can feel like being stuck in a cycle of negative self-talk—rehashing mistakes, beating yourself up, and never feeling good enough. In this video, I’ll share 6 powerful practices to rebuild your self-worth and finally quiet that inner critic. You’ll learn how to: Clarify your values so your self-esteem is rooted in purpose and integrity Stop negative self-talk and replace cruel labels with compassion Challenge mental filtering so you notice your strengths, not just your flaws Discover your unique gifts and embrace what makes you different Use your strengths to serve others and spark real confidence Accept compliments and let them build you up instead of brushing them off These practical steps go beyond affirmations. They’ll help you align with your values, strengthen your self-talk, and grow a deep sense of self-worth that lasts. Looking for affordable online counseling? My sponsor, BetterHelp, connects you to a licensed professional from the comfort of your own home. Try it now for 10% off your first month: https://betterhelp.com/therapyinanutshell Learn more in one of my in-depth mental health courses: https://courses.therapyinanutshell.com Support my mission on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/therapyinanutshell Sign up for my newsletter: https://www.therapyinanutshell.com Check out my favorite self-help books: https://kit.co/TherapyinaNutshell/best-self-help-books Therapy in a Nutshell and the information provided by Emma McAdam are solely intended for informational and entertainment purposes and are not a substitute for advice, diagnosis, or treatment regarding medical or mental health conditions. Although Emma McAdam is a licensed marriage and family therapist, the views expressed on this site or any related content should not be taken for medical or psychiatric advice. Always consult your physician before making any decisions related to your physical or mental health. In therapy I use a combination of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, Systems Theory, positive psychology, and a bio-psycho-social approach to treating mental illness and other challenges we all face in life. The ideas from my videos are frequently adapted from multiple sources. Many of them come from Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, especially the work of Steven Hayes, Jason Luoma, and Russ Harris. The sections on stress and the mind-body connection derive from the work of Stephen Porges (the Polyvagal theory), Peter Levine (Somatic Experiencing) Francine Shapiro (EMDR), and Bessel Van Der Kolk. I also rely heavily on the work of the Arbinger Institute for my overall understanding of our ability to choose our life's direction. And deeper than all of that, the Gospel of Jesus Christ orients my personal worldview and sense of security, peace, hope, and love https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/comeuntochrist/believe If you are in crisis, please contact the National Suicide Prevention Hotline at https://suicidepreventionlifeline.org or 1-800-273-TALK (8255) or your local emergency services. Copyright Therapy in a Nutshell, LLC

Transcript

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0:00.0	Welcome back to another episode of the Therapy in a Nutshell podcast. I'm Emma McAdam and I'm a licensed
0:05.6	marriage and family therapist. And this podcast is all about taking the life-changing, but usually
0:11.0	kind of complicated topics of therapy and boiling them down into simple, easy-to-understand concepts
0:16.8	that you can use in your daily life. If you find today's episode is helpful to you,
0:20.9	please pass it on to someone else who could benefit from it as well. Each podcast
0:24.5	episode comes from a corresponding video you can find on the Therapy in a Nutshell YouTube
0:28.6	channel. Also, these podcasts are educational and don't replace the advice or
0:32.7	direction you may be receiving from a therapist or other health professionals. Now please,
0:37.1	enjoy the episode.
0:38.0	Getting stuck in a cycle of negative self-esteem is like trying to balance a bicycle when
0:43.0	you're not moving. Maybe you beat yourself up over every little thing you say, or that
0:47.6	sneaky inner critic keeps telling you how stupid and worthless you are. Maybe you're like
0:52.1	desperately seeking approval from other people,
0:54.8	or you're trying to people please or never mess up. Maybe you've tried affirmations,
1:00.3	and they just don't seem to help much. Today I'm going to teach you six practices to rebuild
1:05.9	your sense of self-worth. Now, half of these tips will help you improve yourself talk and repair
1:11.6	how you see yourself. For the other three, you have to take a hard look at yourself and build
1:17.0	integrity to your purpose and meaning. Now, these three practices are where I see the biggest impact,
1:22.6	and number five is where I see people really light up. So we're going to challenge negativity
1:27.4	bias. We're going to challenge negativity bias.
1:28.3	We're going to replace seeking outside approval by instead fueling your deep inner sense of purpose and momentum.
1:34.3	Let's go.
	...

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