Considerations about the inferiority complex

The inferiority complex is defined as a condition of not belonging caused by the belief of mediocrity, people who feel it usually do not believe in their potential or that they deserve to be in certain environments.

This complex is directly related to this recurrent feeling of uncertainty and self-doubt, also associated with a low self-esteem. Many times, people limit and isolate themselves in the expectation of dispelling this feeling.

However, it can occur unconsciously. Mainly, when the individual tries to do everything possible to get attention, either by performing spectacular tasks or behaving in an exaggerated manner. Learn more about the inferiority complex and understand how it affects us in the text that follows.

Inferiority complex and its origins

At some point in your life you have felt inferior, or less important than the people close to you. Probably even felt discredited of their capabilities or their intellect. Know that this is how the inferiority complex originates, understand what is this complex in the sequence below!

What is inferiority complex

The inferiority complex is born from a feeling of intense devaluation of the self. It is usually developed by people with low self-esteem or by some mental disorder.

It is common for this complex to arise in childhood or adolescence, because it is during these phases that several negative situations related to criticism, rejection, bullying or other social pressures occur. Thus, these experiences develop in people a negative opinion about themselves.

However, for you to have a healthy and happy life, this ideation about yourself needs to be fought. Therefore, it is extremely important to understand these emotions and understand that these limiting beliefs are originated by our consciousness. Only then will this individual reach adulthood psychologically healthy.

Otherwise, the individual tends to develop the inferiority complex that will accompany him in his daily life. Soon, it will negatively influence all aspects of his life generating negative attitudes such as self-sabotage, the feeling of inferiority, besides hindering his personal and professional growth.

The origin of the inferiority complex

This expression was used for the first time by Alfred Adler, disciple of psychoanalysis and dissident of Freud. The expression "inferiority complex" appears in 1907 in comparison to Napoleon's complex, an allusion in relation to Napoleon Bonaparte's short stature that could generate in many people the shorty's syndrome.

Adler considered that the inferiority complex was caused by feelings of powerlessness which develop in the first years of childhood, from the moment the child recognizes himself before the world and understands himself as a fragile being.

However, in contemporary psychology this complex is not limited only to childhood. The origins of this disorder can be generated by the experiences lived by the individual at any stage of his life. Often leading them to doubt their value.

Is it possible to identify inferiority complex in children?

Children are not born with an inferiority complex, this disorder is learned according to their experiences and relationships and the way they interact with the world. They may feel inferior depending on their upbringing or some external conditions imposed on them.

The following is the list of characteristics that a child may exhibit in relation to inferiority complex:

- When she avoids being around her friends;

- When she'd rather stay home than go out and play;

- She avoids participating in activities that require some degree of display of her abilities;

- She opts for social distancing, avoiding events or places with lots of children.

- You always expose negative thinking regarding your mistakes;

- Externalize the blame for your failures and believe that everything that goes right in your life is the result of chance, not believing in your own abilities;

- When she makes mistakes and makes sure she would make mistakes from the start;

- When the child refuses any reward because he believes he does not deserve to receive it for his achievement.

It is common in the child to develop mechanisms that help to deal with this form of inferiority. But, in many cases in their consciousness limiting beliefs may arise, conditioning their thoughts to the inferiority complex.

Soon, she will not become capable of overcoming these feelings on her own. The inferiority complex may then aggravate and accompany her through all phases of her life.

The characteristics of inferiority complex

People who have inferiority complex have very similar thoughts and behaviors among themselves. Therefore, it is important to be aware of the characteristics of this disorder to understand if you have it and be able to treat it. Follow the reading and find out what they are.

Elusive

The individual who seeks to keep away from any kind of social interaction, thus possessing an elusive behavior or a feeling of inadequacy holds in himself characteristics of a person with inferiority complex.

This behavior usually leads them to social isolation, generated by a voluntary withdrawal from social groups. This movement, besides generating isolation can cause other psychopathological problems such as anxiety and depression.

Low self-esteem

Low self-esteem generates in people an inability to recognize their qualities, which often makes them unhappy with their daily performance. These people believe they have nothing to offer the world. And even if they have received praise and are recognized, they resist accepting it.

This problem can also be associated with appearance, which often leads them to develop compulsions or disorders in an attempt to conform to social standards. This generates a series of physical and psychological problems in these individuals who have an inferiority complex.

Hypersensitivity

People who have an inferiority complex tend to be ultra-sensitive to criticism and comments from others, and are instantly affected by them. Regardless of whether it's a joke, these people will take it personally.

Constant comparisons

Another point is the comparison, people become unable to perform their activities and achieve their results without comparing with other people who he considers to be successful. They will start to idealize these models and end up generating an accumulation of unrealistic expectations for their lives.

Lack of self-love

The absence of self-love is directly related to low self-esteem. They can't feel loved. Despite friends and family telling them otherwise, they only believe their own beliefs.

Consequently, several negative, even self-destructive habits are developed because they cannot find relief from this feeling of emptiness.

Search for recognition

External recognition becomes a constant search for these people. They do everything possible to please others, putting at risk their own mental and physical health to achieve this ideal. If necessary, their tastes and dreams are annulled so that they can please them.

Defensive behaviour

Because they don't receive criticism in a healthy way, people with this complex react to it aggressively. Gossip or other people's faults become an escape valve for them to feel better about themselves.

The inferiority complex can awaken some contradictory behaviors, from an excessive preoccupation with pleasing others, or social withdrawal, to aggressive behavior. Each person will react in his or her own way, but that behavior must compensate for the feeling of inferiority within him or her.

These characteristics interact with each other as a defense mechanism. Each is associated with traumas experienced in past experiences, so these behaviors become responses to these negative feelings.

Common causes of inferiority complex

Health professionals believe that the inferiority complex is caused by the recurrence of these situations that lead these people to inferiorize themselves in relation to others. Understand the common causes capable of generating this disorder below!

Cases of bullying

Bullying is an act of physical and psychological violence that occurs systematically and recurrently in schools, aggression can occur as a form of intimidation through cursing and humiliation, or through physical aggression.

This type of aggression generally occurs from a group to an individual in order to mark the victim as an outcast, which generates a disturbing feeling of not belonging, besides other psychological problems such as the inferiority complex itself.

The mental health of the individual

People who have a mental health weakened by other psychological problems such as depression or anxiety, for example, tend to have a distressing outlook on life. These pessimistic thoughts often lead them to a negative self-image, making them susceptible to developing an inferiority complex.

There are also other disorders and psychic conditions capable of triggering this complex such as:

- Social phobia;

- Psychopathy;

- Schizophrenia;

- Avoidant personality disorder;

- Narcissistic personality disorder.

Education and relationship with parents

Depending on how the relationship between children and their parents is, various childhood traumas can be generated. The way parents raise their children by emphasizing their child's mistakes or deficiencies can cause their children to grow up insecure about their abilities.

Therefore, it is important to observe how you raise your children, because in addition to avoiding various traumas, may be prevented the formation of disorders or disorders in the child.

Personal characteristics of the individual

The development of the inferiority complex is also perceived in individuals who possess personal characteristics that are uncomfortable for them. Usually, depending on the standards of society, these characteristics become derogatory and this relationship often leads to negative interpretations of themselves.

Cultural messages and the environment in which you live

Culture and the environment in which we live set many aesthetic and social standards that can generate a feeling of inadequacy in most individuals. This is due to the fact that they cannot fit within these standards, thus generating social withdrawal and even physical and psychological disorders.

Soon, the feeling of inferiority would be the result of these unreal experiences of society. For, they occur due to a series of discriminations and disadvantages such as:

- Low socioeconomic status;

- Religion;

- Sexual orientation;

- Concepts of ethnicity and race;

- Unmet aesthetic standards;

- Sex;

The disparaging comparisons during childhood

It is common to have comparisons between children of the same age group in the classroom or in the family. However, depending on the type of comparison made, you may be damaging the child's perception in a way that generates an intrusive thought in his consciousness. For, a comparative effect is not always positive or healthy.

Especially when this kind of thinking becomes frequent, children reproduce this behavior, generating a self-evaluation that can often be negative for them. This could lead to a behavior of submission and insecurity, symptoms caused by a feeling of inferiority.

Ways of dealing with inferiority complex

The greatest difficulty for those who suffer from an inferiority complex is in self-acceptance. It will only become possible to overcome this feeling if the person faces this first challenge. However, there are ways to deal with the inferiority complex, continue reading and find out what they are!

Understand the source of your feelings

Abusive relationships, traumas, cultural values and parental neglect are some of the factors that may have generated a feeling of inadequacy in your life.

Search for the origin of this feeling so you can understand your insecurities and question yourself in order to give new meaning to your past. In this case, a psychological treatment can help you find the main reasons that generate your complex, besides helping in the treatment of it.

Increase the proportion of positive thoughts

The number of thoughts processed in our consciousness per day are countless. The tendency that we reproduce a great part of these thoughts is enormous, since we are immersed in a routine. Always reproducing the same behavior.

Consider that you spend most of your time under this state of inadequacy, so the vast majority of these thoughts are intrusive. Therefore, to deal with them you will need new influences. Therefore, it is necessary that you increase the proportion of positive thinking to achieve balance and well-being in your life.

Create rituals to start the day well

We often don't realize that our routine sets several thought patterns that may be propagating this feeling of inferiority, so creating different rituals in your day can help you break with those patterns to revive your spirit and work those thoughts in a positive way.

Strengthen relationships and socializing with positive people

Perhaps you are unable to get rid of this emotional state because you are cultivating relationships with people who influence you negatively. In other words, your association with certain people can make you depressed and anxious. Only you can change this reality.

Get rid of these negative influences and you will feel lighter about your thoughts. By removing these difficulties in your life you are one step closer to overcoming your inferiority complex.

Naturalize the flaws

Mistakes are part of the process of maturation of the human being. That is, if you have made some mistake in your life, do not allow this failure to hinder your evolution. Learn from your mistakes and you will realize every time you perform this task a substantial improvement.

Remember that the mistake is essential for learning. If we give up when we make any kind of mistake, it is through the mistake that we start this process. Have no doubt that if you try you will succeed, because it is in the attempt that in a moment you will get the right one.

And when you reach this moment, you will have more confidence about your capabilities and you will naturalize your failures. Soon, you will be able to get this negative feeling away from you and you will be evolving in your challenge to overcome the inferiority complex.

Work on the notion that you are good enough

Stimulating self-confidence is a process that will require effort from people who have inferiority complex. Usually, they become discredited of their capabilities and diminish themselves not being able to advance in their activities.

However, there are ways to work on the notion that you are good enough. One of them is through self-awareness. From the moment you stimulate your consciousness to deal with your traumas, you will realize not only your faults, but also your qualities.

At that point, you will realize how much you have evolved in your life and feel satisfied with your progress, realizing your worth and gaining confidence to continue with your journey.

Face your fears

There is no point in hiding your vulnerabilities in an attempt to show who you are not. Facing your fears will be fundamental to overcome this negative feeling that you feel about yourself. Only from the moment that you accept yourself that you will be able to overcome this disorder and start to feel good about yourself.

How can a psychologist help with inferiority complex?

If you notice some characteristics in you that resemble a medical condition such as inferiority complex, you can turn to therapeutic treatment to investigate at what level this complex is and how you can deal with it.

The sessions will help you to identify the origins of your feelings of inadequacy, as well as offering other perspectives on your story. This will make the process of understanding lighter and more objective so that you will be able to deal with your problem without self-sabotaging.

The psychologist, allied with your will to change, will serve as a point of support so that you can change your thinking model. Soon, you will feel small transformations in relation to your feelings and will start to accept yourself as you are without the fear of inadequacy.