The Role of Self-Esteem in Self-Care

Have you ever wondered why so many women neglect health self-care? It’s a complex question, which we explore further in Why Do Many Women Neglect Healthy Safe Care? Here we address the main factor behind the notorious lack of self-care for women, self-esteem.

Self-esteem reflects how we perceive ourselves in a society where women are often marginalized.  Despite being patently absurd, cultural myths of male superiority impact the way females are socialized, which can impair the development of healthy self-esteem along the way.

If, on the other hand, we actively nurture our feelings of self-worth, it helps to reverse the culturally persistent pattern of putting others first. Healthy self-esteem promotes feelings of love, compassion, and empathy within ourselves, which positively impacts our self-treatment.

In the great classic−Revolution from Within: A Book of Self-Esteem−Gloria Steinem aims to restore the self-authority that may have been undermined by gender inequality across boundaries of race, class, age, sexuality, and ability. She suggests we challenge all barriers to equality−external and internal. That’s the foundation for healthy self-care.