Please reread what you have just written as though a stranger had written it.

You are a terrible person because someone else is not happy. Sorry what?

You say you have not had self esteem issues still recently but you don’t just suddenly learn this kind of thinking. This is classic black and white, catastrophic thinking. A few things go wrong so everything is bad, a few people don’t like something you do so all of you is terrible.

The trouble is the more you think like this and cancel plans with friends because you are busy beating yourself up over slights and others actions towards you (and it is you doing the majority of the beating-down) the more you create the same situations in your life.

Try treating yourself like someone you care about – tell yourself what you would tell them if they were in the same situation.

• This reply was modified 9 years, 5 months ago by niki.