This short presentation looks at how our mood and self-esteem can affect us and symptoms which may persist that you need to be aware of.

1. Feeling Low & Self Esteem
My Health 2

2. What We’ll Cover
In this short presentation we will look at the following:
★ What causes a low mood
★ Self-esteem
★ Symptoms
★ What if the symptoms don’t away
★ Signs to look out for

3. What Causes a Low Mood?
Basically, lots of things - some of us are better equipped than others to cope
with what life throws at us. Some examples are:
★ Relationship problems
★ Bereavement
★ Stress at work or college
★ Coping with pain

4. Self-Esteem
How we perceive ourselves can also have an impact upon our mood and
sometimes it’s difficult to know what is affecting us the most. Self-esteem can
complicate things by:
★ Making us view ourselves in a negative or even a critical light
★ We feel less able to cope with life’s challenges
★ We shut ourselves away and tend not to interact with others as much as
we might

5. What Are the Symptoms?
A low mood can present as one or more of the following:
★ Sadness
★ Anger
★ Frustration
★ Low self-esteem
★ Tiredness

6. What if the Symptoms Don’t Go Away?
NHS Choices (2015) advise that symptoms of a low mood should start to fade
after a few days and certainly after 2 weeks
If symptoms are still present after 2 weeks, they advise talking to a doctor for
advice in the first instance, to make sure that there is nothing else going on
that requires treatment

7. Signs to Look out For
Signs that something else may be going on include:
★ Symptoms that last for more than 2 weeks
★ Not enjoying life or going out with friends/family
★ Feeling hopeless
★ Feeling tired and/or lacking energy
★ Comfort eating or losing your appetite

8. Things You Can do To Help Yourself
Some of the things you can do to help yourself we looked at in My Health 1,
but it’s worth revisiting them as they are beneficial in many cases:
★ Doing all you can to improve your sleep (quality and/or quantity)
★ Eating a healthy diet
★ Doing exercise - doesn’t have to be rigorous, a walk in the fresh air is as
good as anything
★ Reducing alcohol consumption

9. Sources of Help and Support
If symptoms persist remember, there are lots of organisations that offer help
and support including the Welfare Team at College
There is a section entitled Further Help and Support at the end of this module
with lots of useful information

10. Next: try the NHS MoodZone
podcast