This sounds quite tricky – but it’s not as complicated as it sounds! Rather than setting your expectations sky high and working towards perfection, this is about realising that there is no such thing as ‘the perfect person’ and that we all have different strengths and weaknesses. Society puts a lot of pressure on people, especially young people, and sometimes that leads us to forget about the little things that make us unique, because we’re so busy trying to meet someone else’s standards.
You could try making a list of things you like about yourself, and asking your friends to help if you get stuck. Some people find that it helps to say kind, positive things to themselves in the mirror in the mornings before they leave the house. You can also find information on improving self-esteem on the NHS website.
If you struggle with your mental health or have a mental health diagnosis, you might find it useful to remember that there is lots more to you than that, and that your personality and individual qualities are different to your moods or behaviours:
'My mental health is not me, it’s just a part of me. At the end of the day, a diagnosis is just a sheet of paper. It doesn’t define me or mean that everything I do is because of that.'
In this video created for our #MoreThanMyMH campaign, Young Champion Amy contrasts some of the ways people may have perceived with the positive qualities she would prefer to be seen as: