6 Ways to Deal with Inferiority Complex
Inferiority complex comes with huge waves and barely stops to give you breathing space. There is this loud voice in your head that tells you that you are always lacking something; you are just never as good as everyone else. It can put you into a shrinking universe, where you feel small and powerless. You suddenly find yourself in this field of uncertainty and without even noticing it, it becomes your reality.
The fear of being inferior completely paralyzed me. I managed to put myself into a world, which was entirely unrealistic. I used to see everyone as perfect, whereas I was convinced that my abilities are not valuable and everything I do is mediocre, which caused me to go into isolation avoiding any problems. However, this strategy didn’t help me at all; it just made my frustration even more intense, because I ended up feeling inferior and lonely as well, but in order to overcome the issue I admitted that it had to be dealt with.
Here are six steps that helped me and might be useful to you as well:
1. Find out what’s causing you to feel inferior.
The best way to deal with a problem is to know its nature and where’s it coming from in order to find a solution to the issue. For example, the feeling of inferiority might come only from your mind, you might be someone who worries a lot and tends to over think, thus you exaggerate and create a false reality. Sometimes it’s other people who put you in the position where you feel inferior by criticizing and emphasizing their superiority. Find what is causing your feeling of inferiority in order to find a solution.
2. Understand who you are.
To be able to overcome this complex, you must know what your abilities are by finding what you’re talented in and accept your flaws. Embrace yourself and remember that every detail about you adds to your character.
3. Do not compare yourself to others.
Accept that some people are always going to be better than you at something, but this doesn’t mean that you are not good at anything. Instead of comparing yourself to others, focus on yourself and try to improve every day.
4. Develop a new skill.
Maybe you’ve been stuck for a while and you feel like everything you do is just worthless, you are not making progress and so on. Find something new, a new hobby or a skill that you could use in school or at your workplace. This might help you to realize that you are not entirely burnt out; you can gain some new perspective and boost your self-esteem.
5. Surround yourself with people who support you.
If someone makes you feel bad about yourself, do yourself a favor and remove them from your life and replace them with positive people. Some people can help you find yourself again and make you realize that you are valuable and just as important as everyone else. Find them and keep them close, but don’t forget that how you feel about yourself doesn’t depend entirely on them.
6. Start telling yourself positive statements.
If you are struggling with inferiority complex chances are that your mind is programmed to continually recite your negative thoughts in your head. Try to replace those negative ideas by consciously telling yourself positive statements. This will reprogram your thought process and you’ll be able to perceive yourself more positively.
Sources:
- Adles, A. (1938). The Inferiority Complex. In A. Adler, Social Interest: A Challenge to Mankind (pp. 54-65). London: Faber and Faber Ltd.
- Farooqi, S. (2009, February 28). Inferiority and inferiority complex. Retrieved August 14, 2017, from Life And Psychology: http://www.lifeandpsychology.com/2009/02/inferiority-and-inferiority-complex.htm
What is the possibility of having a superiority complex and an inferiority complex simultaneously?
It is highly possible. A person might deal with inferiority complex by putting others down and that causes him/her to feel superior. ”If inferiority complex becomes too overwhelming and lasts for a longer period of time, there is a possibility that it may engulf the person in such a strong way that it changes into superiority complex. Superiority complex is nothing but an exaggerated form of inferiority complex. When a person develops too much of inferiority complex, then it turns into superiority complex.” Read more about it here:
http://www.lifeandpsychology.com/2009/02/inferiority-and-inferiority-complex.html
I like this article, seems personal but also informative. Hope rob see more like this 🙂
Is it common to see inferiority complexes im people with Rejection-Sensitive Dysphoria? I was recently diagnosed with Rejection-Sensitivity Dysphoria (obviously in addition to ADD) and I was wondering if this disorder could lead to an inferiority complex?
it will be very useful if you please provide some examples of the last point(changing a negative statement for a positive one) i cannot deny reality by lying to myself telling me polianna thoughts!! how can i turn something into a positive version when reality again an again shows me that if i dare to belive in me i just fail anyway? i already am trying the bare minimun and still fail at so mich stuff. i only compare me to me in the past. others are far too superior for comparisons to be of use. thank you for reading