Awhile back I managed to screw up every aspect of my life. I then moved into sixth form/college and lost contact with all my old friends as I always seemed to be the one doing the work... Recently my life has begun to change as I now have a permanent part time job and have enrolled in a voluntary course which could really help my future. But this is only the 'career' side of my life and ultimately I am still quite unhappy, the only boyfriend I had was a screwed up relationship where I lost a friend and him in the space of two weeks. I feel very alone at the moment as I have never experienced love or anything close to it. Because of this I also hate my looks and body which I have always struggled with... I could use some advice to help me build confidence again?



You shouldn't hate the way you look god have you a body of a temple love every aspect of it
don't abuse it if your having problems like this you should talk to your girlfriends that might help as well.Everybody has different bodies I'm pretty sure your beautiful inside and out :)
It seems you are having trouble loving yourself, which is the root of most of our problems as humans on this earth, especially women. I've been struggling with a similiar sort of thing.
My mentor, she is a spiritual healer, nutrionist and a mother figure to me, has been helping me love myself. What she advised me to do is write a self-love affrimation and as many times as you can a day, recite it to yourself in the mirror. Do this, until you believe it. It may be hard at first, I know I struggled, and still am, but every time you start to believe just that little more.
My boyfriend also was going through similiar issues about a year ago but his answer was a little different. What he did was he started finding time to go for at least one half an hour walk a day. This walk gave him time out, helped him think. It got the blood pumping and it changed his whole outlook on life.
I hope these tips are some help :)
You could try therapy...
I have the same problem and i don't know what to do :(
I've come to realize that I'm always going to feel fat and ugly some days.
You're going to have bad hair days that make you want to crawl under the covers for the rest of your life, but DON'T.
Don't expect to feel like sunshine and rainbows over night either.
Specifically:
-Don't whine and complain all the time, anyone who likes a debbie downer, is one.
-Listen! Ask the person questions, get into what they're saying, people like to know someone cares
-Be friendly! SMILE! Wave, laugh!
-I hate the awkward excuse, if you want to say hi to someone, do it, they're the weird ones for thinking it's weird for people to be NICE
-Get enthusiatic, it's hard for people to not like someone who is into what they do, gets excited, and is just overflowing with positive energy
-Get along with people! People can annoy the hell of me. But telling them that is the WORST thing you can do. Unless it's really bad, it's just not worth the waste of time and effort in the first place.
-SO ignore negativity!
-Tell yourself everything is going to be all right, and it will be.
It sounds like you want more of a social life?
Do stuff you want to do! I just moved to a new school my senior year, and I already made over half the amount of friends I had before.
You don't have to be super outgoing,, try and think of this as a challenge or an opportunity for a fresh start.
Make it a goal to have one social event a week, it can be a party, coffee at starbucks with a friend, chatting it up with different people at your voluntary course, or after your job.
Try not to get too comfortable, keep talking to new people and keep in touch with the old.
And anyone can be your friend. The cashier at the bookstore, standing in line somewhere, and of course teachers, coworkers, fellow students, friends of friends, your neighbors, your mailman, regulars at the library, etc
Some of the best friends I've made have been total random and accidental.
And, just if someone invites you to do something and you don't really like them, say yes, their friend may be perfect!
ALSO, let go of those you've left behind. Facebook, Myspace, Twitter, etc makes it so easy to go home and talk to old friends, but if they aren't available for you to have face-to-face interaction, it's not going to make you feel much better. It make work for a while but will leave you unsatisfied. But don't lose touch with them if they're important to you!
Embrace being single and just be yourself.
No expectations. Don't see a guy and think I want him to be my boyfriend.
If you just make some friends, you'll eventually find someone you click with.
Don't go looking for a guy, but don't make yourself oblivious!
If you're more serious about finding a mate, stuff like eharmony can be worth your time. I know a few people young and old that have found their partners on there.
Everyone wants someone to love them, but if you can't love yourself, you're making yourself dependent on them.
If you can be independently happy, think of how happy you'll be with someone!
SELF LOVE
-have a guilty pleasure night at least once a month! (bubble bath, chocolate, star trek, whatever it is!)
-keep working on yourself as a person
-make sure you take care of yourself! (try to eat right at least half of the time and exercise)
-exercise-wise, once a week-it will make you feel good, there's pilates, yoga, rollerblading, biking, swimming, kickboxing, dance, running, sports, there is all sorts of stuff, make it fun, once month of hoop dance lessons, a month of swing dance, a month of swimming, there's pole dancing, you wouldn't believe what people come up with and consider exercise that can actually be FUN
-masturbate more. (self explanatory? ;)
-make a list of everything you want to do today, this week, this year, ten years, your life, and start working on it
-do stuff that makes you happy! Duh! Haha! Bake cookies, decorate your room, make a mix cd, dance in the rain, whatever it is! And if you don't know...try tons of stuff until you do!
Some fun ideas:
-go to the movies
-raves
-parties (I don't just mean the drinking kind)
-museums and art galleries
-aquarium
-zoo
-park (playground or flowers, whatever floats your boat)
-ice skating
-long boarding
-reading books/newspapers/etc (expanding knowledge independently and discussing it with people)
-tubing
-carnivals
-go for a walk
-amusement parks
-laser tag
-festivals
-recreational sports (insta-friends!)
-salon (think massage ooohh yeahh)
-clubs
-concerts
-swim with dolphins
-take a class together (pottery, knitting, writing, trapeze, guitar, surfing)
google free events in your area, sometimes there's some pretty cool stuff
ALSO! Check out galadarling.com
This month is all about Radical Self Love (http://galadarling.com/tag/the-playgirls-guide-to-radical-self-love/)
She also has How to be Confident (http://galadarling.com/article/how-to-be-confident)
Since I've begun following Gala's blog, I've become a much more confident, happier, nicer, just overall better human being.
There's all kinds of positivity and personal development blogs out there!
Dumblittleman www.dumblittleman.com/
the bridgemaker www.thebridgemaker.com/
spiritual cowgirl www.spiritualcowgirl.com/
positivity blog www.positivityblog.com/
Steve Pavlina www.stevepavlina.com/
Zen Habits zenhabits.net/
However, I do not suggest spending all your time on the computer.
A lot of times the stuff we think is the WORST, turns out to be the best things that ever happened to us.
Like, I'm so thankful my parents got divorced, I tore my ACL, and that I moved senior year. I definitely wouldn't be who I am today or as happy. :)
Get out there and just have FUN!
hey there, thank you so much for your comment :) im gonna start on some of this stuff straight away. great advice! thanks again :)
you seem to have a self esteem problem, you could try to do things you consider fun, hopefully this would involve a group of people . you might make new friends this way. as for your body , im afraid we have issues with those, no matter how perfect we might look to others, most of us arent happy, im one of those, i have always struggled with this issue, i decided to do something about it, with success, so if its something you can change, then do it, if not, then learn to live with it, remembering nobody is perfect. everyone deserves love , and you will get it, but you have to learn to love yourself . im sure you are a lovely person inside and out, you just have to beleive.
There's a book that helped me out a lot. It's kind of religious... so if your on that path, it's a great book for you. If you aren't, it's still a great book just take out the religious aspect of it. It's called Captivating by Staci Eldredge.
Well... If they aren't trying to be your friends, they're probably not worth it. (I know... That sounds good in theory, but wont really make you feel much better.) But just get out there! Join sports work out and listen to music, read, draw, do pottery... Whatever, but LOVE YOURSELF FIRST... Then people can see how truly special you are!
Try making friends at work too... I know that may be hard, but ultimately figuring out your life is more important than having bffs and a social life. If you're strong enough to handle it just remember you're worth it and you're headed somewhere and if people don't like you... Screw them.