Unfortunately, we live in a meritocratic society so it's gonna be inevitable for our self-esteem to take a massive blow whenever we struggle financially.
Have you identified what makes you feel worse about your situation though?
For me, it was social media. I noticed that the more I see my peers posting about their glossed-up successful lives, the more horrible I feel about myself. So,I stopped using FB & IG.
I've then devoted my time to learning how to deal with my MH issues, engaging with MH communities online, starting a simple exercise regimen,preparing affordable healthy meals, & improving my financial literacy. It makes me feel better when I focus on things I can control compared to when I was mindlessly scrolling on my social media feed.
I also try to be more compassionate to myself. I constantly remind myself that sometimes being well-off is not merely based on one's great ability or persistence to make money. Sometimes, other people just have certain privileges. Sometimes, no matter how hard one works, lady luck still plays a vital role in the results & it's not always in one's favor. I also have this corny peptalk where I tell myself that: All I can do is give my best shot & if it doesn't work out, then I have to get up & try again. There are times when I bawl my eyes out. Other times, I take a day off from the world. Learning to be my own ally has been a tedious process and I still am a work-in-progress myself. Hopefully,along the way, I could also learn to detach my self-worth from how much money I make. That would be a dream.
Sadly, being taken advantaged of when one is poor does happen. Well, it did happen to me but I believe that those who have better finances are not exempted from this kind of suffering either.
Anyway, I'm not sure if any of the coping mechanims I mentioned is gonna make sense to you at all. At the very least, I hope my words distracted you a bit from everything that's bothering you now.
Hang in there!
I'm rooting for you.