Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsSigns of an Inferiority ComplexWhat Causes an Inferiority Complex?Effects of Living With an Inferiority ComplexCoping With an Inferiority Complex
Table of ContentsView All
View All
Table of Contents
Signs of an Inferiority Complex
What Causes an Inferiority Complex?
Effects of Living With an Inferiority Complex
Coping With an Inferiority Complex
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An inferiority complex is when a person has feelings of inadequacy or inferiority, whether real or imagined. These feelings may result from a physical defect or surface in situations where we feel less intelligent than our peers. Other times, feelings of inferiority may be concocted from purely imagined shortcomings.
Feeling inferior goes beyondunhappinessthat a colleague got a promotion over you, or even feeling sad after achieving a low score on a class-wide test. These are expected, even healthy reactions to disappointments, and are usually nothing to worry about.
There are several things to look out for when trying to recognize an inferiority complex. Learn what these signs are, potential causes of inferiority, and ways to cope with your own feelings of inadequacy.
Industry vs. Inferiority in Psychosocial Development: Middle Childhood
If you are constantly worrying about measuring up to others or turning down invites to avoid interacting with people you believe are better than you, chances are, these feelings of inadequacy didn’t turn up overnight.
An inferiority complex is most likely the outcome of one or a combination of factors, some of which may have developed over time. Common causes of an inferiority complex are outlined below.
Childhood Experiences
While feelings of inadequacy tend to stick out in adulthood, these symptoms may result from negative events that took place at a much younger age.
Likewise, where young ones are raised in an environment of cruelty, one that repeatedly makes them question their worth, they tend to grow up timid and unsure of their value where others are concerned.
Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs)
Physical Characteristics
It’s understandable to be fussy about your appearance. However, there are times where a person may consider their weight, facial features, or other bodily traits to be real causes for concern. This can lead to extremeself-consciousness.
Other characteristics like living with a speech impediment (e.g., astutter) can encourage feelings of inadequacy.
Economic and Social Challenges
There are obvious implications of living with financial difficulties such as sacrificing important needs to pay for more pressing issues, residing in a poorer society, etc. However, one easy-to-miss connection is the toll that living under tightfinancial constraintsoften leaves on the mind.
In cases where a person is the least financially successful in their friend group or constantly has to reach out to peers and family members for assistance, this can negatively impact their estimation of self-worth. The same may occur where a person grew up under tough economic circumstances that constantly forced them to ask for help or money.
In addition to these challenges, an inferiority complex may also manifest in adulthood due to circumstances such as an inability to find employment, social setbacks such as difficulty finding a spouse, or public embarrassment that leads to destructive feelings of insufficiency.
When you live your life assuming that everyone else is better than you, this can negatively affect your ability to carry out everyday activities. Living life with an inferiority complex is harmful for the reasons outlined below.
Increased Risk of Developing Dangerous Addictions
Constantly having to relate with people you’ve placed on a pedestal and dealing with the outcomes of such interactions can be taxing when you live with an inferiority complex. For an escape and to help manage these difficulties, studies have shown that people living with this complex tend to turn to dangerous drugs.
Likewise, it isn’t uncommon to becomedependent on alcoholto get through the day when living with feelings of insufficiency. While these coping mechanisms may offer some comfort, their effectiveness is loudly pronounced at lowering feelings of self-worth. Moreover, these dependencies may even lead to health complications.
Depression
When you don’t feel strong or worthy enough to interact with your friends, family, and colleagues as equals, this can greatly impact your mental health and well-being.
Constantly second-guessing and shrinking yourself can sometimes lead to feelings ofdepressionand have been shown to encourage frustration in persons saddled with this complex.
Poorer Quality Social and Work-Life
If you’re too concerned about appearing incompetent compared to colleagues, this can take away from your focus on the job. Feeling inadequate may also affect the proper execution of your role.
Likewise, when all you can think about is fielding questions from peers and family alike about status in life and achievements, this can prompt you to avoid social interactions with loved ones.
Living with an inferiority complex may also increase the tendency of developing asleeping disorder.The chances of experiencing feelings ofsuicidal ideationare also higher when you live with an inferiority complex.
Going through life with the belief that others are better than you, or consider you inadequate because of some deficiency or other, can be incredibly challenging.
But, it’s important to recognize that you are a unique individual, filled with different strengths and abilities that can make you a positive addition to any setting.
It may not always be easy to achieve this mindset. To help manage your inferiority complex, let’s take a look at some things you do to cope with feelings of inferiority.
Attend Therapy
Telling a stranger about your struggles with self-worth might seem like a bad idea when dealing with an inferiority complex, butseeking professional helpmight be the guidance you need.
Through approaches likecognitive behavioral therapy, negative thoughts and ideas about your value can be identified and changed into a more positive outlook. In addition, therapy can provide a guiding hand as you challenge unfavorable ideas about yourself.
Keep a Journal
Writing downtrue feelings about yourself and triggers that spur these thoughts can help you keep an eye on your progress with valuing yourself more kindly.
By identifying the factors that cause you to think negatively about yourself, writing out the ways you are, in fact, worthy of respect and love can help with internalizing more positive ideas about yourself.
Practice Positive Affirmations
Making a habit of telling yourself how valuable, beautiful, and talented you are can jumpstart a powerful change in how you perceive yourself.
As a routine, this will not only offer a change to the way you think and speak about yourself; it can help to strengthen your belief in your abilities.
25 Positive Daily Affirmations for Your Mental Health
A Word From Verywell
It’s normal to struggle with feelings of inadequacy every now and again, but when these feelings become a crippling fear of not matching up to others, this could signal an inferiority complex.
Overcoming thoughts that make you feel like others are better and more qualified than you at work, social interactions, or even just more physically appealing than you may seem daunting. However, through methods like therapy andpositive affirmations, a significant improvement can be achieved in how you view yourself and interact with others.
What Is a Superiority Complex?
3 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.Alavi HR.The Role of Self-esteem in Tendency towards Drugs, Theft and Prostitution.Addict Health. 2011;3(3-4):119-124.Hirao K.Comparison of Feelings of Inferiority among University Students with Autotelic, Average, and Nonautotelic Personalities.N Am J Med Sci. 2014;6(9):440-444. doi:10.4103/1947-2714.141627Hirao K.Comparison of Feelings of Inferiority among University Students with Autotelic, Average, and Nonautotelic Personalities.N Am J Med Sci. 2014;6(9):440-444. doi:10.4103/1947-2714.141627
3 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.Alavi HR.The Role of Self-esteem in Tendency towards Drugs, Theft and Prostitution.Addict Health. 2011;3(3-4):119-124.Hirao K.Comparison of Feelings of Inferiority among University Students with Autotelic, Average, and Nonautotelic Personalities.N Am J Med Sci. 2014;6(9):440-444. doi:10.4103/1947-2714.141627Hirao K.Comparison of Feelings of Inferiority among University Students with Autotelic, Average, and Nonautotelic Personalities.N Am J Med Sci. 2014;6(9):440-444. doi:10.4103/1947-2714.141627
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.
Alavi HR.The Role of Self-esteem in Tendency towards Drugs, Theft and Prostitution.Addict Health. 2011;3(3-4):119-124.Hirao K.Comparison of Feelings of Inferiority among University Students with Autotelic, Average, and Nonautotelic Personalities.N Am J Med Sci. 2014;6(9):440-444. doi:10.4103/1947-2714.141627Hirao K.Comparison of Feelings of Inferiority among University Students with Autotelic, Average, and Nonautotelic Personalities.N Am J Med Sci. 2014;6(9):440-444. doi:10.4103/1947-2714.141627
Alavi HR.The Role of Self-esteem in Tendency towards Drugs, Theft and Prostitution.Addict Health. 2011;3(3-4):119-124.
Hirao K.Comparison of Feelings of Inferiority among University Students with Autotelic, Average, and Nonautotelic Personalities.N Am J Med Sci. 2014;6(9):440-444. doi:10.4103/1947-2714.141627
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