Christian Counseling for Overcoming Women’s Insecurities

Are women’s insecurities a real thing? You probably don’t need statistics to know that the answer is yes. While all human beings are susceptible to feelings of insecurity, women are more vulnerable to insecurity than men are.

Although we might sense this general truth, studies and statistics can help shed further light on the level of women’s insecurities in different areas of life. Here are some facts about women, girls, and insecurity:

• By age 17, almost three-quarters of young women report being unhappy with their bodies.
• Of all the people who have been diagnosed with eating disorders, 90% of them are young women between the ages of 12 and 25.
• In 2021, women received 94% of all cosmetic procedures. Facial procedures alone increased by over 50% that year.
• One study found that over 90% of women compare themselves to female creators on social media. Over half the time, this comparison results in a more negative self-image.
• A survey of married women found that 82% felt insecure about their husbands’ love for them.
• Multiple surveys reported by The Atlantic found that women consistently report less career confidence than men, despite having similar levels of competence.

While body image might come to mind first, these statistics show that women are at risk of struggling with insecurities in multiple areas of life.

Defining insecurity

When we use the word insecure, we’re talking about self-perception. Your perspective on yourself depends on a myriad of factors, including childhood experiences, past trauma, whether you’ve felt loved or unloved, whether you’ve felt competent and successful, and more.

WebMD defines insecurity as: “a feeling of inadequacy (not being good enough) and uncertainty. It produces anxiety about your goals, relationships, and ability to handle certain situations.”

Both men and women can struggle with feeling inadequate, uncertain, anxious, and insecure. Just because you feel this way sometimes doesn’t mean that you are a fundamentally insecure person.

But excessive levels of insecurity can lead to excessive anxiety, so it’s crucial to recognize and develop a healthy self-image.

Also, insecurity can lead to numerous unwanted outcomes, including social isolation, social anxiety, poor job performance, insecure attachment, perfectionism, and depression. (WebMD)

Overcoming women’s insecurities

Developing a sense of security in yourself can take time and effort. The Lord offers us the ultimate security in knowing we are created and loved by Him:

For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. –  Psalm 139:13-14 NIV

This psalm shows the individuality of the Lord’s love for us. He creates each of us intricately and wonderfully, not so that we can feel like garbage as we go throughout our lives, but so we can worship Him as we see His work in us.

See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! – 1 John 3:1a NIV

This passage shows us the underlying cause of our confidence: knowing we are loved and adopted by God Himself.

If your earthly father was a very important person, you would probably feel confident and significant as well. How much more confident can we feel, knowing that our Father is the God of the universe?

Knowing doesn’t always translate into feeling, and that’s okay. Our relationships with others can also have a profound impact on having meaningful, connected lives. Serving others and staying connected to our community, even in small ways, can unlock the prison of isolation and self-protectiveness.

Individual counseling for women’s insecurities

While reminding ourselves of the truth, that we are loved by God and other people, can help us grow in security, it’s not a magic solution to insecurity. Sometimes our brains become accustomed to negative thought patterns. Insecurity can turn into a self-fulfilling prophecy. We feel insecure, so we behave accordingly, and others respond accordingly, increasing our feelings of insecurity.

If this cycle sounds familiar to you, how can you break it? Professional and compassionate Christian counseling can help. Individual Christian counseling offers a safe and trustworthy environment to process fears, past experiences, emotional struggles, and more.

Individual counseling for women’s insecurities can be one of the most powerful ways to break the cycle of insecure attachment and low self-esteem. The counselors at our office are trained and experienced in a variety of therapeutic methods, and they are committed believers who seek to share God’s love throughout the counseling process.

If you want to learn more about Christian counseling or the counselors we have available, you can browse our online directory or call us today. You can also fill out our contact form. Ask us how to schedule a risk-free initial session.

You don’t have to struggle with insecurity alone. Christian counseling can be the kickstart to your journey of freedom and confidence.