What Behavioral Issue Do People Undergoing #Depression, #Addiction, or #Compulsion Almost Always Have?

Experience gained from my 30+ years in practice as a cognitive-behavioral psychologist shows that with the right tools people readily learn to elevate and maintain emotional well-being and happiness. 

At the Think Right Feel Right Blogoscope you will find the behavioral tools and techniques that help to ward off anxiety, depression and addiction.  You will learn about ways to defeat troubling emotions such as anger, worry and sadness.  You will also find practical strategies for increasing self-esteem, positivity and for being a happier you.

For three plus decades now I have gathered standardized behavioral data on all new clients.   This information includes presenting issues and symptoms for a wide range of psychological problems.  My clients typically have a variety of symptoms and problems involving addiction, depression, anxiety, etc.  Regardless of the specific diagnosis or diagnoses however, virtually all report and/or display self-esteem issues!   Here's the kicker:  I probably could count on one hand, if that, the number of people with really good self-esteem who came to see me. 

The other side of the coin is this: After clients work on and improve their self-esteem, they cope better and begin to feel happier.   Pretty soon, when they have the tools to master their own emotional well-being, they leave and usually don't need to come back.  And that is precisely what we want to happen.

What might this mean? The strong link between self-esteem and so many different kinds of emotional disturbance suggests a straightforward and common solution for these problems: When we lack ability to esteem and nurture ourselves, we are vulnerable to a variety of emotional problems. We worry, feel anxious, become depressed, or fall into addictions or compulsions to seek relief. However, when we correct the self-esteem problem and learn how to be more self-nurturing, we also correct the deficit that invites in so many emotional problems and, we become more secure, resilient, and happier.  Self-esteem and self-nurturance improve emotional-well-being because they provide the essential motivation and focus for proper self-care.  In turn, we become better-equipped to correct and defeat behavior that promotes mental health symptoms and problems and to stay on the path for feeling well. Please look over my earlier posts for a lot more on the topic of self-esteem and emotional health.