I love the quote by Eleanor Roosevelt: “No one can make you feel inferior without your consent”.
It’s a quote that I often repeat to myself, especially when others try to undermine me and try to belittle my abilities. Sadly, it often comes from other professionals in the mental health industry. Professionals who are petty and bicker amongst themselves over which school of thought is the best approach for treating clients. What they seem to miss is that humans are complex and one school of thought alone would never cover all the behaviours and emotions that humans experience and feel. Instead of working against each other, it would be so much better if we could be collaborative in nature and work towards a better understanding of mental health rather than picking holes in approaches that we don’t personally use in our work with clients.
In my work with clients, I like to instil hope and a little bit of humour where appropriate. Life can be lived in a serious manner or we can learn to take the punches on the chin and look beyond the temporary challenges that present themselves.
In order to stay strong within, it’s important to remind yourself of all your positive traits and the overall messages you receive. There will always be someone who tries to knock you down or who disagrees with you. That’s a part of life. Don’t allow negative people to cut you down. They can only do this if you take on board what they tell you and focus on that alone. Throughout your life, you will find there have been many times when you have done a good job and succeeded. Focus on this too in order to keep perspective. One person doesn’t have all the answers, no matter who they are or how knowledgeable they claim to be.
So, believe in yourself, take the smooth with the rough and hold on to your self belief as if your life depended on it. I know of many successful people who were told they would amount to nothing. They certainly didn’t listen to the negative comments and judgements and neither should you.
Go get them tiger!
Mandy X
Author: Mandy Kloppers
Mandy is a qualified therapist who treats depression, anxiety, OCD, PTSD, trauma, and many other types of mental health issues. She provides online therapy around the world for those needing support and also provides relationship counselling.
