I would say that depression and low self-esteem (funny....I never really thought about that word too much until now...'esteem of ourselves')....I would say that they are unquestionably connected.

Maybe not everyone with depression has low self-esteem, but I'm willing to bet that a great deal of those people who can't think well of themselves will suffer from depression at some point in their lives (if they don't already.)

All I have discovered about improving self-esteem is for me to look at what I do well. I think we all have something that we do well that hasn't been eaten away by the acidity of parental criticism....

I can doubt that I am a good person. But I don't doubt that my intentions are good, always.
I will never do anything as well as my parents would do nor will I do things good enough for them, but there are things that they CANNOT do, and have never done, that I can do.

For my own self-esteem, I focus on these things that I know and I try to do them more often. Sure, it's like digging out of a prison cell with a teaspoon.

But this teaspoon is what's available, so I'll make use of it.