Share your life problems, concerns and worries with our Agony Aunt and professional, qualified Counsellor, Esha Johnson.

Question:  My cousin is usually a motivated and ambitious person, but lately it seems as if she has lost her confidence. This is not like her at all, how can I help to motivate her again? – Kesha, 18 from Birmingham

Dear Kesha,

Firstly, thank you for writing in with your concerns about your cousin. It sounds as though she is an ambitious young person and something has happened to knock her confidence. Maybe someone has said something to belittle her? Perhaps she is comparing herself to someone else and doesn’t feel she measures up? She may feel that she has not achieved very much as of yet or there may be some other family issues; whatever the reason, all is not lost.

Life has its moments of ups and downs when we don’t feel good about ourselves and that’s perfectly okay. The best help you can give your cousin is not only to be a listening ear but also to try and encourage her to identify what has caused the problem and address it. If this doesn’t work, find someone who can help her sort through her emotions; who can help her look at where she is now and how she got there and then help her find a solution.

There’s always a reason for a loss of confidence and it’s important to find the root cause in order to help her to move forward.  Encourage your cousin to share her feelings and not to bottle things up. Everyone in life needs to know how important they are; let your cousin know that you care about her and remind her of all those great qualities you see in her to help her feel more optimistic.

(Cover photo via weheartit)