Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsSignsCausesHow to Limit Attention-Seeking BehaviorDealing With a Person Who Needs Attention
Table of ContentsView All
View All
Table of Contents
Signs
Causes
How to Limit Attention-Seeking Behavior
Dealing With a Person Who Needs Attention
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Everyone wants attention from time to time. It’s a natural human desire to want to receive validation and praise. However,needingattention suggests that you cannot function without receivingattention and validationfrom other people. Because of this need, you might exhibitattention-seeking behaviorsto get the attention you crave.
While it’s perfectly normal to want attention from friends, loved ones, and people you admire, constantly needing attention is unhealthy. It can also be a sign of an underlying mental health condition.
Signs That You Need Attention From Others
Some people who are attention-seekers may not realize that they’re exhibiting attention-seeking behaviors. Attention-seeking people express their desire for attention in varying ways.
Some of the most common behaviors people who need attention exhibit include:
Coping With an Insecure Attachment Style
Causes of Attention-Seeking Behavior
Several factors can cause causes of attention-seeking behavior. Let’s take a look at what might be behind these behaviors:
Insecurity and Low Self-Esteem
Physical and emotional insecurities can cause a person to develop an attention-seeking personality. While it may seem harmless, it’s an unhealthy way to deal with insecurities. It can also cause strain on your relationships with family, friends, and even strangers.
Personality Disorders
Certain personality disorders could also cause attention-seeking behavior. People with anarcissistic personality disorder, or borderline personality disorder, in particular, often display attention-seeking behaviors.
One of the primary symptoms of people with ahistrionic personality disorderis displaying attention-seeking behaviors in addition to having extreme emotional reactions.
Other mental health conditions such as ADHD, anxiety, andbipolar disordercould also cause a person to display attention-seeking behaviors.
The Best Online Resources for ADHD We Tried and Tested
The Best Online Therapy for Anxiety, Tried and Tested
How to Stop Needing Attention From Others
The first step to stop needing attention is recognizing that you display attention-seeking behaviors. Some people who need attention don’t realize what their behavior means or that the behaviors are unhealthy.
Working on building self-confidence and ridding yourself of insecurities is a significant first step to helping you stop craving attention.
Here are some ways you can build confidence:
Get Help NowWe’ve tried, tested, and written unbiased reviews of thebest online therapy programsincluding Talkspace, BetterHelp, and ReGain. Find out which option is the best for you.
Get Help Now
We’ve tried, tested, and written unbiased reviews of thebest online therapy programsincluding Talkspace, BetterHelp, and ReGain. Find out which option is the best for you.
How Social Support Contributes to Psychological Health
How to Deal With a Person Who Constantly Needs Attention
If you have a friend or loved onewho constantly needs to be the center of attention, you can help them come to the realization.
Here are the best ways to help people who constantly need attention know they are exhibiting unhealthy behaviors:
Ask a Therapist: How Can I Improve My Self-Esteem?
2 SourcesVerywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Don BP, Girme YU, Hammond MD.Low self-esteem predicts indirect support seeking and its relationship consequences in intimate relationships.Pers Soc Psychol Bull. 2019;45(7):1028-1041.Cleveland Clinic.Histrionic personality disorder: causes, symptoms & treatment.April 29 2022
2 Sources
Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Don BP, Girme YU, Hammond MD.Low self-esteem predicts indirect support seeking and its relationship consequences in intimate relationships.Pers Soc Psychol Bull. 2019;45(7):1028-1041.Cleveland Clinic.Histrionic personality disorder: causes, symptoms & treatment.April 29 2022
Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
Don BP, Girme YU, Hammond MD.Low self-esteem predicts indirect support seeking and its relationship consequences in intimate relationships.Pers Soc Psychol Bull. 2019;45(7):1028-1041.Cleveland Clinic.Histrionic personality disorder: causes, symptoms & treatment.April 29 2022
Don BP, Girme YU, Hammond MD.Low self-esteem predicts indirect support seeking and its relationship consequences in intimate relationships.Pers Soc Psychol Bull. 2019;45(7):1028-1041.
Cleveland Clinic.Histrionic personality disorder: causes, symptoms & treatment.April 29 2022
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