Self-esteem is a core identity issue, essential to personal validation and our ability to experience joy. Once achieved, it comes from the inside out. But it is assaulted or stunted from the outside in. A woman with low self-esteem does not feel good about herself because she has absorbed negative messages about women from the culture and/or relationships.
This meditation technique is quite different from thje conventional meditation techniques. This technique is actually a contemplation exercise and involves thinking over life. Though people of all age can try this technique, it is basically suitable for people with mature age (I mean 18 & above). The reason is that only those who have lived a certain (substantial) duration of life can reflect back on their past. Very young people who are still in the initial phase of their life are less likely (though not impossible) to analyze their life from the angle which this meditation demands. Nevertheless, this meditation technique is very useful for knowing our true self.
Depression, like most mental illness runs the continuum of severity. It can be mild or major. It can last from weeks to months. It can involve anxiety symptoms as well. Depression is primarily characterized by sadness and/or loss of pleasure in nearly all activities. Additionally, there may be symptoms such as changes in appetite, sleep patterns, and psychomotor activity (changes in both mental and physical responsiveness and/or activity).