Yes! You have unconditional value, just like anyone else, given your innate worth as a human being. If you now notice thoughts popping up in your mind saying “that’s not true”, “I’m not worthy”, “that goes for everybody else but me” or something of the sort, you probably have a pretty harsh superego. A superego is a concept that is made up of a collection of identifications based on early experiences and feelings, values, and a striving for truth that guide us in different ways. So if you have a harsh superego, you might believe you have no intrinsic value, you need to perform in a certain way to be worthy of love. 

Someone who believes in his/her intrinsic value will trust their feelings and inner life to guide him/her. Someone who doesn’t will dismiss her feelings and inner life and rely on self-doubt for guidance instead. This self-doubt may, in short, take three forms: “I’m bad”, “you’re bad”, or “you think I’m bad”. If this rings true to you, be on the lookout for my next posts about why this is and what to do about it. Also, don’t hesitate to reach out to me or another psychologist or psychotherapist if you would like to work on this, so you can live the good life you deserve.