A man broke my self esteem regarding romantic relationships; when i told this to a friend of mine, she said "why do you let him?" At first, i thought what she said was unkind; why should i blame myself for these feelings? Now, a day later, i think she was on to something: if he was unkind to me, i should not be unkind to myself. With time i'll rebuild my self esteem, until then i'm treading life lightly.