This Scientific American piece reviews research challenging the commonsense notion that self-esteem is good for you and that low self-esteem is the root of many problems in functioning. Quite the converse may be true; I have previously written about the insidious effects of our society’s encouragement of narcissism, and the skeptical research findings here support a revisionist approach. This has many implications for us who are mental health practitioners. I have followed thinking on the evolutionary value of depression, for example; under certain circumstances, a pessimistic, unambitious stance may be adaptive, self-protective… and more realistic. Should it necessarily be abolished with treatment in all instances?