From Self-Doubt to Self-Belief – The Science of Lasting Confidence
- Brainz Magazine
- Sep 30
- 6 min read
John Tepe, founder of John Tepe High-Performance Mindset Coaching and Therapy, helps professionals master their beliefs and behaviours. With advanced degrees in English Literature and Applied Neuroscience and expertise as a Master Practitioner of Neuro-Linguistic Programming, John helps clients take control of their narrative.
Struggling with self-doubt despite your achievements? This article explains the science of lasting confidence through Bandura’s self-efficacy, showing how to reframe inner dialogue and regulate stress. Discover how cognitive-behavioural hypnotherapy and practical tools can turn fragile confidence into grounded self-belief.
“I can’t switch off, no matter how much I achieve.”
“Even when I succeed, I still feel brittle inside.”
“My body betrays me, racing heart, restless nights, foggy thinking when I need clarity most.”
These phrases echo through the lives of ambitious professionals. Outwardly, they appear composed, articulate, and effective. Inwardly, their confidence is fragile, sustained by sheer effort rather than a genuine belief in their own capability. They replay conversations for hours, measure themselves against colleagues, and wonder why achievements never silence the inner critic.
Albert Bandura’s theory of self-efficacy helps us understand this paradox. Self-efficacy is not a vague sense of confidence but the conviction that we can organise and execute the actions required to manage life’s demands. Bandura emphasised that this belief is shaped not only by what we do but also by what we say to ourselves and how we experience our bodies under stress.
People’s beliefs in their efficacy can be strengthened by persuasion that they possess the capabilities to master given activities, but they are easily undermined by self-doubts and stress reactions.[1]
In other words, the inner voice and the physiological state of the body either reinforce or erode the belief that one is capable. A shaky presentation may be remembered not as “I managed it under pressure,” but as “My voice trembled, I am not cut out for this.” A racing heart is not interpreted as readiness but as proof of incompetence.
Left unchecked, self-doubt becomes a script that runs silently but relentlessly. Bandura warned that when efficacy beliefs are tied to social comparison and external approval, setbacks are magnified and achievements discounted. The result is exhaustion, professionals who deliver results outwardly but cannot rest inwardly in their own competence.
Therapy for self-doubt begins here, by recognising that brittle confidence is not evidence of inadequacy but a learned pattern of self-judgment and stress reactivity. Patterns can be rewired. Through cognitive-behavioural hypnotherapy, verbal reframing, and stress regulation techniques, the inner critic can be challenged and the nervous system calmed.
Verbal persuasion: Rewriting the story you tell yourself
Bandura identified verbal persuasion as one of the four sources of self-efficacy. Words influence not only motivation but the very belief that action is possible. When persuasion affirms genuine capability and is grounded in evidence, it strengthens resilience. When persuasion is negative, as in habitual self-criticism, it erodes confidence even in the presence of success.
Many professionals describe this erosion vividly. They say, “I replay conversations for hours.” “I freeze when feedback turns critical.” “I talk myself out of applying for opportunities.” These phrases show how persuasion becomes internalised as an automatic, undermining voice.
Albert Ellis formalised this process in Rational Emotive Behaviour Therapy (REBT). He observed that people did not simply prefer success, they demanded it. They told themselves, “I must succeed. Others must approve. If not, I am worthless.” Ellis demonstrated how disputing these rigid demands could free people to adopt flexible preferences instead, replacing “I must be perfect” with “I would like to do well, but I can still have worth if I do not.” This act of verbal persuasion is not superficial positive thinking but a systematic re-authoring of one’s inner dialogue.[2]
Andrew Salter, in his pioneering work, argued that inhibition was the true enemy of mastery.[3] He showed that open emotional expression and assertiveness trained the nervous system to associate honesty with strength. When clients inhibited expression, they reinforced fear. When they spoke with emotional honesty, they reinforced courage. This behavioural persuasion taught them to trust their capacity in real time.
Cognitive-behavioural hypnotherapy integrates these traditions. In therapy, clients are guided to rehearse new inner scripts with clarity and conviction. Instead of “I am stumbling,” they practise “I am steady and clear.” Instead of “I am weak under pressure,” they practise “I can remain calm and focused.” These are not affirmations in the abstract. They are rehearsed with imagery, anchored to past mastery experiences, and reinforced with hypnotic focus. Verbal persuasion becomes a skill, one that can be trained until self-efficacy is strengthened.
Managing emotional and physiological states: From reactivity to regulation
Bandura also emphasised that self-efficacy depends on how people interpret their physiological states. Stress arousal can be read as energy or as incapacity. He noted, “High arousal may be interpreted as a sign of vulnerability to dysfunction, but it can also be viewed as an energising facilitator of performance.”[1] The interpretation is decisive.
This is why so many professionals describe their bodies as betraying them. They say:
“My hands shake when I present.“
“My chest tightens before meetings.”
“I lie awake with racing thoughts even after a successful day.”
The body’s stress signals are read as evidence of weakness, which reinforces self-doubt.
Donald Meichenbaum designed Stress Inoculation Training (SIT) to help clients reframe and regulate these states. SIT progresses through three phases, conceptualisation, where clients understand how stress affects them, skills acquisition, where coping strategies such as relaxation and self-talk are practised, and application, where these skills are rehearsed under simulated stress. Meichenbaum explained that the aim was not to eliminate stress but to cultivate coping self-efficacy, “The goal is to make clients better problem solvers, able to deal with future stressful events as they arise.”[4]
David Spiegel extended this principle through clinical hypnosis. He and Herbert Spiegel demonstrated how hypnosis can reduce stress and pain by enhancing attentional control and reframing bodily sensations. More recently, neuroscience studies have shown that hypnosis alters connectivity in brain regions such as the anterior cingulate cortex and default mode network, producing measurable changes in how stress and attention are processed.[5]
In therapy, these findings translate into practical tools. Clients learn progressive muscle relaxation, guided imagery, and hypnotic suggestion to regulate arousal. They practise noticing bodily sensations without interpreting them as failure. They anchor calm states to specific thoughts or gestures, creating portable techniques for meetings, negotiations, or presentations. The body, once a trigger for doubt, becomes a resource for confidence.
What lasting self-efficacy looks like in professionals
Across this trilogy of blogs, we have seen how self-efficacy develops through different channels. In the first article, we explored the contrast between regress loops that erode confidence and self-efficacy loops that build it. In the second, we examined mastery experiences, modelling, and mental rehearsal. In this final piece, we have focused on verbal persuasion and the management of physiological states.
For professionals, the transformation looks like this:
Self-doubt is recognised as a learned pattern, not a fixed truth.
The inner critic is challenged with words that persuade rather than sabotage.
Stress signals are regulated and reinterpreted as readiness, not failure.
Boundaries are set not from fear but from clarity of purpose.
Confidence becomes less about performance and more about presence.
This is the essence of self-efficacy, not brittle bravado, but resilient belief. Like elite athletes, professionals thrive when their inner training supports their outer performance.
Conclusion: Building confidence that lasts beyond the moment
Therapy for self-doubt is not about silencing every anxious thought or eliminating stress. It is about training the mind and body to register success, to hold setbacks as data rather than verdicts, and to sustain belief from the inside out.
Bandura showed that self-efficacy is built through mastery, modelling, persuasion, and state regulation. Meichenbaum demonstrated how stress inoculation turns reactivity into resilience. Ellis and Salter revealed how self-talk and assertiveness can free people from rigid demands. Spiegel confirmed, with clinical and neuroscientific evidence, that hypnosis can rewire how stress is processed.[6]
Taken together, these insights form a coherent path. With the right tools and guidance, professionals can move from brittle self-doubt to grounded confidence. The goal is not to become flawless, but to cultivate inner mastery.
If you are ready to explore how to build this kind of confidence for yourself, you can begin with my free toolkit and book a strategy call.
Read more from John Tepe
John Tepe, High-Performance Coach and Psychotherapist
John Tepe is the founder of John Tepe High-Performance Mindset Coaching and Therapy, where he helps ambitious professionals gain clarity, master their behaviours, and capitalize on career opportunities like promotions, business deals, and personal milestones. With advanced degrees in English Literature and Applied Neuroscience, as well as expertise as a Master Practitioner of Neuro-Linguistic Programming, John blends creativity and science to empower his clients. His mission is to help professionals take control of their life narratives and achieve meaningful, lasting success.
References:
[1] Bandura, A. (1997). Self-Efficacy: The Exercise of Control. New York: W. H. Freeman & Co.
[2] Ellis, A., Dryden, W., & David, D. (2019). Rational Emotive Behaviour Therapy. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
[3] Salter, A. (1949/2019). Conditioned Reflex Therapy. London: Watkins Media.
[4] Meichenbaum, D. (1985). Stress Inoculation Training. New York: Pergamon Press.
[5] Spiegel, H., & Spiegel, D. (2004). Trance and Treatment: Clinical Uses of Hypnosis (2nd ed.). Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Publishing.
[6] Spiegel, D., et al. (2017). Brain activity and functional connectivity during hypnosis. Cerebral Cortex, 27(8), 4083–4093.
[7] Brewer, J. (2021). Unwinding Anxiety. New York: Avery.
[8] Dryden, W. (2012). Rational Emotive Behaviour Therapy: Distinctive Features. London: Routledge.
[9] Herbert, J. D., & Forman, E. M. (2011). Acceptance and Mindfulness in Cognitive Behavior Therapy. New York: Guilford Press.
