How does low self esteem manifest itself?

Answered by Dushka Zapata via quora.com:

I am unable to recognize my own worth and can only perceive it through what others say. This creates a self-perpetuating need for external validation.

I avoid conflict, because any form of disagreement threatens my fundamental architecture.

I never set a boundary as I feel that doing so risks my relationships.

I don’t respect the boundaries of others because I experience them as a form of rejection.

I am so anxious and wrapped up in how I come across that there is less room for empathy.

I judge others - a symptom that I’m not happy with myself.

I don’t trust anyone. Trust is hard to establish with others if I don’t trust myself.

I cannot regulate my own emotions.

I cannot communicate my own emotions.

I don’t know how to ask for what I want. I am not even sure what that is.

I struggle with two feelings that disguise themselves as coming from others but really come from how I see me: envy and jealousy.

I crave intimacy but am afraid of it.

I want to be vulnerable but it feels too dangerous.

I don’t like being alone but also often feel lonely in the company of others.

Low self esteem is like wearing tinted glasses. It colors everything, because we are the place from where we see the world.