Building confidence is a process. Focus on your strengths and accomplishments and use these as a reminder to yourself what you’re capable of. If you are working towards a specific thing to be confident for, it may be good to present yourself with smaller goals to work your way up to your bigger goal and this way be more prepared and ready for it. A huge downfall can be constantly comparing yourself to other people and their progress. Everyone is on their own individual journey and nobody knows exactly the details of other people’s journeys. Don’t let the opinion or progress of others hold you back. Positive affirmations always!

Speak to them. Explain how you are feelings and provide them with examples to demonstrate to them how they’re acting. If they do not understand as a group, it may be beneficial to speak to them individually. The bottom line is, if your friends were truly your friends, they’d listen to your worries and do their best to understand you.

This is an important one. The generation we live in now exposes us to so many standards of beauty. Social media has become a showcase for newly defined ‘perfectionism’. It’s so important to understand that not everything you see online is real. Photo editing has become so popular and sadly normalised. But not only are people editing their photos, many are paying for surgery. This too is promoting higher standards of beauty and has encouraged insecurity a lot more.

Surround yourself with people who make you feel good. There are so many people in this world that look at you and wish they had something you have. We see ourselves as 10% less pretty than others do. This may be due to constantly looking at yourself in completely natural form and then seeing someone on social media who have taken hours to look how they do and then comparing the two.

Take regular breaks. This is so important. Take time in the day to step away from work and recharge. It’s also beneficial to have a healthy balance between work life and social life. Make sure you’re switching off your work mode when you’re supposed to and ensure you’re experiencing life outside of work. See other people and experience new places.

It’s important to note that the emotions your feel are temporary. They come in waves. Just because you haven’t felt happy for a while does not mean you won’t again. Focus on the little things. What would make you happy right now in this moment? Whether that’s a call with your friend or even buying your favourite drink from the shop, do that. Do more of what makes you happy.

A good way to find happiness again would be to pick up a new hobby or interest. This can help you to feel motivated and have a new focus in life. It’s something you can work on give you a sense of accomplishment.

I think one of the best things you can do in this situation is make it clear to your friend that you are here to listen, talk and support them through it. Sometimes, it may seem like they are not open to discussing how they feel but them knowing that you are there for them can always help. Try to encourage them to spend time with you, maybe even pick up a new hobby, to give them a new focus and interest. Do your research and let them know what support options are available to them.

With therapy, I think everyone has a different experience. Some people take to it a lot better than others and it doesn’t work for everybody. It’s important to feel connected and understood by your therapist and if this doesn’t happen, it might just be that you haven’t found the right therapist for you. Lots of people find it beneficial. I would highly recommend giving it a try. This way you will know if you it works for you and if not, you never have to go back!

I hear you. There are so many reasons that make us want to protect ourselves from being hurt. The thought of letting someone in for them to just take advantage and hurt you is enough to put some people off it. But how many people are you going to let yourself miss out on knowing for this reason? The reality is that some people in life aren’t very nice. These people often have unresolved issues of their own that they are projecting onto others. This means it is not your fault or problem, it’s theirs.

I think it’s good to have a good relationship with yourself before letting people in and giving them the potential to hurt you. This way you will have a strong foundation on your own within yourself to be okay if anything goes wrong. I understand past experiences can really put you off this but what if you’re pushing away something great?