I do agree that not all expectations are negative, but the way they dictate their expectations on how I should behave, as in not being to express myself is unhealthy. For example, I am not allowed to do martial arts even for self-defensive because I am a female. I remember a time when my aunt asked my mother why I was acting a certain way because I was all jumpy, which is my way of expressing excitement. When I got back, she told me not to behave like that ever again when I go outside.

But also find out what factors caused developing low self-esteem and work on them in small steps at a time. I would like to add that you can also practice improving your self-esteem, instead of completely abolishing it, such as practicing self-care, building supportive relationships, and challenging negative self-talk

low self-esteem is complexed, as you mentioned, since there could be a lot of factors that can contribute on the development of low self-esteem. I agree that it can be difficult for people to seek help when having low self-esteem because of the fear of judgement and/or criticism. This could lead to as many people have mentioned, a negative impact on their mental health

Yes, I agree with you that having low self-esteem can increase your chances of developing mental illness. It took me a while to figure out that I do have low self-esteem, and you do not realize you have self-esteem issues until it is perhaps a bit too late. It can also lead to people inflicting injury on themselves (also known as self-harm). There are ways to improve low self-esteem, such as practicing self-care, building supportive relationships, and challenging negative self-talk

As we mentioned before during one of our discussions, our parents are living through us, such as pressuring us to do things that perhaps we do not want to do and also climbing the social ladder as well. It would be nice, to do what you want to do one day and focus on that path/journey instead of trying to achieve those expectations that are given to us by the society, or anyone/anything

I would also, like to add that victim blaming is also factor of being unable to identify from what is right and what is wrong from my experience. I know it would be a sensitive topic so I would not go in-depth. But from what I have heard, for example the victim gotten assaulted because of a, b, c and d but the perpetrator did it because he loves her or something like that, which can be shown through manipulation and/or gaslighting. Correct me if I am on the right track or not

Also, I would like to add that all your failures creates experiences and also knowledge. By this I mean, like you know what to do next and the right way to do it. And also, we are human beings, everyone makes mistakes and no one is perfect.

Wouldn't it also lead to having a life crisis? Because you're expected to achieve all these expectations by a certain age and slowly losing your own goals that YOU want to achieve. Also, the feeling of wanting to fit into society due to those expectations that replaced your own ambitions that the individual person wants to achieve.

It is also very hard to overcome when you felt that way for so long (from experience). It can also lead to self-injury (also known as self-harm) as well and some people do not take it lightly if they see scars or injury to self, which can lead to more of an impact on the people who experiences self-hatred. As you mentioned, it can be caused by various factors. Personally, a factor for me would be my negative experience with my dance instructor with all the emotional abuse I have gone through. So, as I said it is very hard to overcome when a person has felt that way for so long

During my generation (the early 2000s) there was still a feeling of being connected since I did go outside and play with my friends even when technology was becoming a part of our lives. But now there's a lack of connection from everyone and/or everything as Barsha mentioned because of perhaps how far technology has developed during the years but also how fast-paced society is now.

Growing up with technology made it more difficult as well and I feel like it is getting worse in today's society. As a child, when technology was becoming a thing, I still went out to the park and hung out with friends but I see people my age back then walking around with the latest iPods and sometimes a phone. Even now, I see literally children with the newest iPhone or latest piece of technology

Both society and families should understand that everyone is different and at a different stage of their development. By putting unrealistic expectations on them could redirect them to a different path that they did not want to go on, which then can cause, as you mentioned a negative impact on their mental health, such as the amount of stress that they would have.

I feel like if we achieve something, we do not really get appreciated as well, from my experience. It is always "you can do this better," or it is time for another expectation that I need to achieve. I understand that parents want to best for their child/children but they also need to understand the amount of stress that they put on the child and/or children

The stress that the parents would give their children to achieve their unrealistic expectations is unreal. I do agree that it is important to know that everyone has their own journey to complete and achieve since everyone is different. As you mentioned before, the meaning of success is different to everyone and it is not a "one-size fit all" definition. There are various meanings of success, such as we discussed during our Tea Talk session

I agree, such as letting their children explore their own lives instead of the parents dictating their own children lives.

It has been better throughout the years, because I remember seeing dolls that are all tall and slim when I was younger. I wished that there were dolls that were different heights and body sizes and now there is.

That is what makes everyone unique and special in their own way because of our differences. Which can be referred to characteristics/traits of each individual,

If it gets to an extreme that the fear intervenes with the persons life, they can get a diagnosis of different types of anxiety disorders, such as social anxiety, agoraphobia, generalised anxiety and many others. Unfortunately it is very common but as you mentioned there are ways to overcome the fear of being judged. But as I said before, if it that fear intervenes with a person's daily life, they can get a diagnosis on different anxiety disorders

If everyone is considered to be "perfect", would it be boring and no one would be unique?

Also another example would be comparing someone's body size and assets to another person. It happens a lot