Body Image

Self-Esteem is a two-way street

This past week, as part of Make it Better Week [4], hosted by the Brock Student Justice Center [5], the Peer Health Educators facilitated a campus-wide affirmation campaign. Student Health Services wanted to reinforce that Self-Esteem is a Two-Way Street. As an individual, your self-esteem can be affected by other people and it can also have a profound affect on others.

There are four sides of self-esteem:

1. General self-esteem: one's overall perception of self-worth.

2. Social self-esteem: one's perception of interpersonal peer relationship.

3. Parent-related self-esteem: one's perception of her/his status at home, including how his/her parents view her/him.

4. Academic self-esteem: one's perception of her/his ability to succeed acedmically.

Influencing Others

There are also many opportunities to influence another person's self-esteem.

Friends: Influential, Comfortable, Adolescence, Perception and judgement.

Family: the first influence; they impact our beliefs, attitudes, values; be supportive to siblings and parents.

Partner: Opportunity to express opinions, feelings and attitudes; reject or accept values; provide security and encouragement.

School: Produce positive comments; do not judge or tease; be aware of your actions; give compliments

Pass it on!

It's important to be aware lof the body image and self-esteem messages you pass onto others.

You can negatively influence other people's self-esteem by passing it on through direct comments (eg. telling someone they need to lose weight) or modeling (eg. constantly complaining about your physical appearance).

Be a positive influence on others!

If you or a friend are experiencing personal or social difficulties while studying at Brock University, you can find out more at Brock Counselling Services [6].