All people at some point have felt inferior in some way to another, either because it is better than us in some activity, because he is more intelligent, because of his cultural and / or educational level, physical appearance, etc. However, we also take into account that we can be better than others and that does not cause us any conflict. When a person suffers from an inferiority complex, he is constantly comparing himself to others, have the feeling that you are not up to scratch and feel less worthy and unable to do things than others if they can. This situation causes a significant deterioration of her self-esteem and a poor self-concept of herself. Having an inferiority complex causes a lot of personal frustration and anxiety. People suffering from an inferiority complex face a serious problem that limits one or more areas of their life.
In this Psychology-Online article, we will explain in detail the causes, symptoms and treatment of inferiority complex.
An important aspect to begin to overcome the inferiority complex is to know what its causes are. The feeling of inferiority may have originated even from childhood, since a child who has received the support and acceptance of her parents despite her moments of success or failure and that you have not been punished for it, but rather motivated to do better, you will have less chance of developing a complex of inferiority. However, it can develop from almost anything. The
- For some physical characteristic that the person does not like, for example: body weight, height (being too high or low), some specific physical trait such as the size and / or shape of the nose, teeth, skin color, etc.
- Some anxiety reaction of the person, for example: blushing, excessive sweating, body odor, stuttering, twitching.
- Due to the lack of social and technical skills, among others. The person does not take into account that any type of skill is developed by practicing it continuously and feels that it is not suitable.
- When as a child he has been constantly criticized by parents, teachers and / or classmates.
- Having had parents who did not value themselves enough.
- Focus more on weaknesses than strengths.
- Being too self-demanding with oneself.
After having analyzed some of the main characteristics that people with feelings of inferiority, as well as known what are the most common causes for a person to start generate it. We are going to give you a series of tips that you can support yourself to learn to overcome the inferiority complex.
Stop comparing yourself
One mistake people with feelings of inferiority make is constantly comparing themselves to others. When that happens, we must remember that there will always be more attractive, intelligent people, with more or less health, etc., as well as there are less attractive people, less intelligent, with less health, among others things. However, it is not about comparing yourself but simply about seeing things from another perspective, recognizing that each person is unique and special despite the defects and virtues of it.
Modify your thoughts
Normally, people with an inferiority complex continually have negative and irrational thoughts about themselves. What happens with these thoughts is that in the end they turn into emotions. A person who constantly thinks that he is not capable, that he is inferior to another, that he always does everything wrong, etc., will surely find himself sad, angry with himself and / or depressed. Therefore, the importance of changing our negative thoughts for more positive ones that help us feel better.
You can start by detecting when these types of thoughts appear and once you have detected them, analyze and modify them. For example, if I have the thought "I do everything wrong, I am not fit for anything", in this case it is a irrational thinking, since you are generalizing, one cannot be fit for everything, however, neither for nothing. In this case, the new thought would be: “I am not doing this well, for now I do not have enough skill to do it, however, if I have the ability to do something else ”and keep in mind that to develop a skill you have to practice it, it is not achieved overnight. morning.
Reduce self-criticism
Stop continually criticizing yourself because it will only awaken feelings of discomfort in you. Be careful what you say to yourself, don't be so harsh, remember that nobody is perfect. Swap destructive criticism for more constructive criticism. One way to do this is that whenever you find yourself criticizing yourself, imagine that what you are saying to yourself is you are saying to your best friend or a very dear person, comfort yourself and motivate yourself, just as you would with that person.
Don't pretend to please everyone
Identify your beliefs, ideas and values, once you have them identified, be firm with them and act accordingly. Realize what you are doing now that is not in accordance with your way of being and analyze why you are doing it. You may find that many of these things you are doing to feel accepted by others and to try to please them. Start to change that and be yourself because if you try to please everyone, which is impossible, you lose respect for yourself, you stop accepting yourself as you are and you stop being authentic.
Psychotherapy
If you feel that the inferiority complex you have is very intense, that it is limiting you in one or more areas of your life or, simply, you would like to receive external support to overcome it, you can assist with a professional who will be in charge of helping you and supporting you in this process. The objective of psychotherapy will be to provide you with the tools so that you can get ahead, increase your self-esteem, confidence and love yourself so that you can move towards a life with greater meaning.
