Overweight Teen Help

Building self confidence is something that many individuals have problems achieving. Teens especially are undergoing so many changes physically and mentally that building self confidence can be difficult. This article looks at how teens can best build self confidence.

Building self confidence is a great way for any teen to successfully transition from being a child to an adult. However, achieving this level of self confidence is not always easy especially with many of the outward pressures teens face on a regular basis including academic expectations in school, answering parents' demands and trying to conform to society's unrealistic expectations of beauty.  

What is self confidence and why is it important?

• Healthy self confidence allows you to enjoy the aspects of growing up and to do so successfully transitioning into a self-confident adult ready for many of the challenges everyone must face at some point in their life. Building self confidence can help you meet your goals by feeling capable, strong and in control of your life. But how do you achieve this level of self confidence?

How to build self confidence:

1. Stay away from negative influences like alcohol and drugs. Alcohol is actually considered to be a depressant and once the buzz of the effects of the alcohol wears off, a feeling similar to that of depression sets it. Under this influence, it is difficult to not point out all of the negative aspects of yourself or to magnify your "flaws." Drugs have a similar effect. They can distort your self image, meanwhile actually causing you physical harm. 
2. Remember, what you see on TV and in magazines is often altered. Photoshop and other computer programs can easily manipulate images of the models you see in magazines. Slimmer waistlines, larger breast size, changes to facial features are regularly done to the pictures of models. In real life, most of the time they look like an average healthy individual.
3. Keep in mind, no one is perfect. Keeping this tip in mind can help you on your road to gaining self confidence in no time! No one is perfect. Everyone has flaws, so don't let jealousy get the best of you. You may be jealous of another person's looks or accomplishments because you have things to be proud of as well whether it be excelling in school, an after-school activity, writing, art, photography. Find something you are interested in and capitalize on that. Once you find you have something you can excel in, you begin doing better in other areas of life. 
4. Self improvement is never a bad thing. Working toward getting better at something, getting in shape or doing better in school can greatly improve and be part of building self confidence and teen body image. Set realistic goals and work hard to achieve them.
5. Avoid negative comments. Do not listen to negative comments made by others or by yourself. If you have to, write down a list of your favorite qualities and keep in in someplace readily available to view when negative thoughts begin creeping in your perception of yourself. 

Sources: http://www.livestrong.com,  http://kidshealth.org