face your fears. Get out there and do all the things you're afraid of. Once you prove to yourself that you're capable, you'll be more confident!

Buy them a gun! NO, Im just kidding, plz don't do that. Try therapy, it's much less likely to kill people.

Try to see the people who are in worse condition but still having a smile on their face. Study yourself, build-up a very easy goal and achieve it. (Like writing an article for the local newspaper. . ) The response you get from others will make you feel better and will build your esteem. All the best.

Compliment good things about them. When they accomplish a particular task let them know what a great job they did. Tell them that you cherish their friendship and their worth to you.

How wonderful of you to want to help. All you can really do is encourage them, compliment them, and model what it is like to be a person of confidence (con = with, fi = faith). You can also pray for them if that is something you do - and let them know about it! Some practical ways to encourage: - A verbal "well done" - A note or card with an encouraging word - A positive book with a note that says, "This book made me think of you. Keep up the good work" - A phone call just to say, "I was thinking of you today. You are very valuable to me." - A pat on the back - Always trying to "catch them" doing something well so that you can compliment them YOU CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE IN YOUR FRIEND'S LIFE and I am confident that YOU WILL ... Just by being a friend.

show them how to love themselves, by loving yourself. and if its you, u`d b helping every1 aroung u if u 4get bout the bad bits of everything and think of something positive out of every crap day, that will soon help u boost ur self esteem and confidence comes with speaking out, tell ur opinions, they count just as much as the next persons! :)

Read this, it is something I wrote: In His Love: Seeing Yourself As God Sees You http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=dcp466nb_38dmk7vvc4&hl=en The answer to low self esteem is this: Live knowing God's immeasurable, unending, unconditional love. Live seeing yourself as He sees you, as He created you. Knowing what He thinks of you, sees in you, and what you are to Him. Knowing that God looks at the heart (not outward appearances as man does)--and He desires yours. And knowing that to God you are gorgeous, cherished, special, adored, loved, desired, and pursued. And, most importantly (the most important truth you will ever discover) knowing God loves you so much that He wants you to spend eternity with Him in heaven and responding to His call of love--the love you were made for (God created you to have a relationship with Him so you could enjoy His love. You were created for intimacy with God) . See above link. "What He is after is *you*--your laughter, your tears, your dreams, your fears, your heart of hearts. He wants *you*. And he has moved heaven and earth to get you." ~The Sacred Romance, by Brent Curtis and John Eldredge (See link above). Two great books on the topic you could share with your friend: Who Calls Me Beautiful: Finding Our True Image in the Mirror of God" by Regina Franklin. "This book tackles issues of insecurity, self-worth, failure, and so much more. Reading this book allows you to begin seeing yourself as God sees you -- a beautiful daughter of His. Are you feeling down on yourself? Depressed? Ashamed of how you look? Believe that you aren't beautiful because you need to lose weight? Then you owe it to yourself to read this! ANY woman who struggles with the issues of conforming to the world's idea of 'beauty' should really get a copy of this. I think you will really enjoy it, and hopefully it will change your life as much as it has mine." Back cover description: "Franklin skillfully chips away at the belief that a woman's body is more important that her character. Patiently pointing to Scripture, she convincingly shows that true beauty starts inside and radiates outward. It is this proper biblical understanding of God's design for women that empowers them to move beyond the cultural standards and the world's 'ideal woman.' When you see yourself as God see you, as He created you, suddenly you have the freedom to be the unique woman you are created to be in Christ. And you can then pass this legacy on to other generations of women." You can buy it here for $7.99: http://www.christianbook.com/Christian/Books/product The New York Times Best seller: "Captivating: Unveiling The Mystery of A Woman's Soul" by John and Stasi Eldgredge "The message of Captivating is this: Your heart matters more than anything else in all creation. The desires you had as a little girl and the longings you still feel as a woman--they are telling you of the life God created you to live. He offers to come now as the Hero of your story, to rescue your heart and release you to live as a fully alive and feminine woman. A woman who is truly captivating."

There's only so much you can do. Other people can certainly support and help but ultimately a person has to save themself

It depends if they're willing to help themselves or not... You can't help someone who doesn't want to help himself/herself. You can say anything you want, but nothing you say will work if he or she doesn't do any of the work on his or her own.

That can be particularly difficult if the person with self esteem and no confidence just poses like that for attention. Otherwise... http://www.marines.com/

Im not a man.. But my boyfriend is very open with me.. He loves to hear that he is my only one, that he is handsome, and sexy. Tell him how he makes you feel, often at that. When he hugs you grab his arms and give him "damn your a tuff guy look" lol hopefully you know what i mean. When cuddling tell him that you wouldn't be anywhere else. Leave him little notes that you will always be there for him, how you feel for him, and everything that attracted you to him..

Just make it clear that you are head over heels in love with him, that you love being with him and you're commited to making him happy. If he loves you equally, then he will probably see you as an extrordinarily beautiful/wonderful woman and the idea that someone like you could chose him as a suitable partner would be a major boost to his self esteem. Making a deliberate effort to brighten up his life implies that you are repaying him for brightening up *your* life and knowing that he does this will make him feel more important. It mightn't hurt either if you can arrange a break from the other things that are going on in his life right now. Perhaps a romantic night where the outside world doesn't exist as far as your concerned, and it's just the two of you being together and being in love.

Be there for him and pray for him.

He must pretty much do it himself. External flattery may turn him off. +1