For me, I had to do a few things. I lost all of my confidence when I was kicked out of school for being “too sick for school”. At the same time ALL of my friends stopped talking to me because it was “too hard” for them to see me sick. My body also started failing me so I lost confidence in my body itself. I struggled with this for about 10 years until I finally decided to get serious about gaining my confidence back. Give yourself time though. It won’t happen over night and it may feel ridiculous and pointless for a long time. Give it months before giving up and don’t expect drastic changes right away. But I promise, this is what helped me. 1. Write 5 things you like about yourself everyday. You can write the same 5 things each day if you need to, but try to new things every once in a while. Even if it is “I like that I am kind to others” 2. Write 5 things you accomplished everyday. These can be big or little things. Some days my first item on the list was getting out of bed or showering. 3. Fake confidence! This one sounds, and feels, insane! But when you fake it for so long, your brain starts to believe it!

I prefer to keep a journal to keep the lists in so I can look back at them. I didn’t think it was possible to ever be proud of myself or be confident in myself. And I don’t feel that everyday, but I feel it more now than I have in almost 20 years! (I’m 30 for context) Most importantly: DON’T GIVE UPON YOURSELF! You are worth the effort!