Self-Esteem

Self-esteem is a basic need — a well-defined, stable attitude toward self and our positive qualities and achievements. Research shows self-esteem’s two dimensions are self-worth (deep, inherent belief in our value and goodness, independent of external achievement) and mastery. In contrast to self-worth, self-esteem is a more dynamic, subjective assessment of our abilities, contributions, and value to the external world—which makes it more vulnerable to external influences and opinions. While distinct, fostering strong self-worth and self-esteem contributes to overall wellbeing, resiliency in dealing with challenges, and more likely to try new things. Lower self-esteem is a more inconsistent, unstable self-concept — making us more vulnerable to challenging situations and more unhappy, unsatisfied, insecure, and afraid of failure. Self-esteem can also be explicit (conscious, reportable self-evaluation) or implicit (unconscious, automatic feeling of self-worth). In narcissism, implicit and explicit self-esteem may be split (lacking integration) — the narcissist consciously feels bad about themselves, but unconsciously feels special, entitled, superior. This generates inner conflict leaving the narcissist feeling fragmented and in a state of emotional turmoil. Explicit self-esteem is often low in vulnerable narcissists (reflecting underlying inadequacy, fragility, shame), but high (inflated) in grandiose narcissism or narcissistic personality disorder (NPD).