Inferiority complex refers to the emotional experience of underestimating oneself when comparing with others. Severe inferiority complex is a psychological defect. Austrian psychologist Adler believes that since childhood, due to powerlessness, incompetence, and ignorance, people must rely on their parents and the world around them, and a certain sense of inferiority will occur. He also believes that the attack is not caused by feelings of self-esteem, but caused by feelings of inferiority, which is a manifestation of overcompensation. Inferiority complex in the process of reforming criminals is one of the main obstacles to psychological correction.

Psychological explanation

In some respects, the inferiority complex can promote people’s correct understanding of themselves, speed up the remedy of their own shortcomings, and have certain progressive significance for their own growth. On the other hand, low self-esteem is harmful to people’s psychology. When people hope to promote their own progress and hard work through role models or beautiful things, they will inevitably develop inferiority due to the psychological effect of comparison, but they will be affected. Things have the effect of repulsion and disgust, which is not conducive to their own progress.

Academic research

In 1910, Adler shifted the focus of his theory from true triumphant inferiority complex to “subjective inferiority complex”, or inferiority complex. At this time, compensation or over-compensation directly points to real or imagined low self-esteem. During the period when he established the theory, he abandoned biology and turned to psychology. He believed that anything that caused inferiority complex was a topic worthy of research.

Adler pointed out that all people have a sense of inferiority at the beginning of life because children’s survival is completely dependent on adults. Children feel extremely incompetent compared to the strong adults on which they depend. This feeling of weakness and low self-esteem arouse the strong desire of children to pursue strength, thereby overcoming the feeling of low self-esteem. During the development of Adler’s theory, he emphasized that attack and strength are the means to overcome inferiority complex.

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During the development of Adler’s theory, in his opinion, becoming more powerful means having more male qualities, and therefore less female qualities. He called this pursuit of more masculine qualities as male resistance. Since both men and women seek to become more powerful to overcome inferiority complex, they both try to realize the cultural thoughts of masculine characteristics. In other words, men and women are more committed to resisting men.

Is inferiority complex a bad thing? Adler denied this. In fact, to become a human being means to feel inferior. This is common to all people, so he is not a cowardly or abnormal phenomenon. In fact, this emotion is the main motivation behind all personal accomplishments. Because a person feels low self-esteem, he pushes him to accomplish certain careers. When someone obtains an achievement, he can experience a short-term sense of success, but compared with the achievements of others, it makes him feel inferior, which in turn stimulates him to strive for greater achievements. Repeated endlessly.

Positive and negative effects

Although inferiority complexes are a stimulus to all positive growth, they can also lead to mental illness. A person can be discouraged by an inferiority complex to the point where all thoughts are extinguished and all things rest. In this case, the inferiority complex is a hindering factor rather than a motivating factor that acts on the positive reality. Such people are considered to have an inferiority complex. According to Adler’s theory, all people will feel inferiority complex, but it can cause mental illness in some people, while in others, it creates a need for achievement.

People with low self-esteem usually compare their own shortcomings with the strengths of others. They always feel that they are inferior to others in every way and cannot see their own value. If things go on like this, they will have a pessimistic mood. It is easy to lose hope in life because you can’t find your own value, and people with a serious inferiority complex may even think of committing suicide.

Inferiority complex is the root cause of self-enclosed psychology, and it is the bane of the youth. Parents and teachers’ evaluations of children will have a huge impact on children, especially derogatory evaluations: such as “too stupid”, “brainless”, “meal bucket”, “stupid donkey”, etc., which may seriously hurt the child. Self-esteem makes him (her) feel inferior. Gradually spread and spread, resulting in wrong psychological stereotypes, causing interpersonal barriers and many behavioral problems, hindering the normal conduct of learning, life, and interpersonal communication activities. If this morbid psychology cannot be treated promptly and correctly, it may endanger lifelong.

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Root of value

People’s cognition of their own state and quality constitutes self-awareness, and people’s evaluation of their own value characteristics constitutes self-emotion. Although in its form, human self-evaluation is a self-evaluation of certain specific characteristics (such as appearance, identity, temperament, specialty, status, etc.), its value is essentially a self-evaluation of one’s own labor ability and development prospects. Since a person’s workability is stronger, the value rate of all his activities is higher, and his median value rate is higher, then he has a higher evaluation of himself, and the higher the intensity of his self emotion, it will form ” Feel good about yourself”, so people’s self-evaluation of workability is ultimately a self-evaluation of the median value rate. [3]

When a person conducts self-evaluation, he must first choose a reference, usually, a person who is closest, most realistic, and has the greatest interest, or the average level of society as the reference, that is, to compare his own median value rate with The median value rate of others (or ordinary people in society) is compared to generate self-emotion. The greater the difference between the two, the higher the intensity of self-emotion. Therefore, the intensity of a person’s self-emotion fundamentally depends on the intensity of self-worth.

Self-esteem is divided into two types: inferiority and pride: when one’s own median value rate is less than the median value rate of society (or the median value rate of the object of comparison), people will have a sense of inferiority; when their median value When the value rate is greater than the social median value rate (or the median value rate of the comparison object), people will feel proud. The extreme form of inferiority complex is self-defeating and self-rejection and the extreme form of pride is arrogant and indomitable. These extreme self-emotions can easily lead to extreme thoughts or extreme behaviors and lead to destruction.

Related explanation

A complex emotion of inability to help oneself and weakness. People with inferiority complex despise themselves and think that they cannot catch up with others. A. Adler has a special explanation for the inferiority complex, which is called the inferiority complex. He has two related usages of the term: First, the inferiority complex refers to complex psychology composed of subconscious desires and emotions centered on a person’s belief that oneself or his environment is not as good as others’ inferiority concept. Adler believes that a person’s defects in mental function can be compensated in other ways. The most important motivation for a person is to be recognized and have an appropriate position in the group. Secondly, the inferiority complex refers to the role of cultural ornamentation formed by a person’s inability or unwillingness to fight. The inferiority complex is caused by incompetence and dependence on others during infancy, so it has universal meaning to people. People try to compensate for their inferiority complex and outperform others, truly or imaginatively. The inferiority complex is a force that drives people to become superior and the result of repeated failures. Inferiority complex can be eliminated by adjusting awareness, enhancing confidence, and giving support.

Solutions to Inferiority complex

Inferiority in psychology refers to a kind of self-denial, which is mainly to underestimate one’s abilities and feel that one is not as good as others in all aspects. It can be said that this is a personality defect. The main manifestation is the low evaluation of one’s abilities and qualities, and some special emotions, such as shyness, anxiety, guilt, depression, disappointment, etc.

Long-term low self-esteem will not only cause psychological unhealthy but also lead to physical sub-health. The specific harm is that people will be psychologically depressed, depressed, and often unwilling to interact with others because they are afraid of others looking down on them. , Just want to be alienated from others, lack of friends, self-pity, even guilt, self-blame; inferior people, lack of self-confidence, indecision, no sense of competition, can not catch fleeting opportunities, can not enjoy success Happiness and so on. Physiologically, it will lead to a decline in immune system function and a decline in disease resistance, which will cause a person’s physiological process to change, and various symptoms such as headache, fatigue, anxiety, slow response, and memory loss will occur.

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Inferiority is not terrible. As long as you have mastered some methods, you can overcome your inferiority complex and make you a confident person. Let’s take a look at how to overcome inferiority complex.

How to Eliminate Inferiority complex

Good personal factors have a major impact on overcoming inferiority complex and are also the basis for building self-confidence. The excellent and the strong who are all-round are definitely not related to inferiority. The problem is that no one in the world can be strong and excellent in all aspects of physiology, psychology, knowledge, ability, and even life. No one is perfect”. Therefore, theoretically speaking, no one in the world does not have an inferiority complex, and inferiority can occur in anyone. Almost all people have an inferiority complex, but the way and degree of expression are different. Successful people can overcome inferiority and surpass inferiority. The important reason is that they are good at using control methods to improve psychological endurance so that they can psychologically block the interaction of negative factors. From two different perspectives, the environment, and the subject, it not only analyzes the root cause of inferiority in detail but also finds out the direction to overcome inferiority.

Under normal circumstances, the main control methods used by successful peopleto Eliminate Inferiority complex are as follows:

1. The cognitive method

It is through a comprehensive and dialectical look at one’s own situation and external evaluations, to realize that human beings are not gods, and neither can they be perfect, nor can they be omniscient and omnipotent.

2. The transfer method

Shift your attention to activities where you are interested and can best reflect your own value. By devoting yourself to activities such as calligraphy, painting, writing, production, and collection, you can dilute and reduce the psychological inferiority shadow of your weaknesses and relieve your mentality. Stress and tension.

3. Comprehend the law

It is also a psychoanalytic method, which is generally implemented with the help of a psychologist. The specific method is to analyze and find out the deep reasons leading to the inferiority mentality through free association and recollection of early experiences so that the inferiority crux will return to the conscious level through psychological analysis so that the help seeker can realize that having an inferiority complex does not mean their actual situation. It’s bad, but because of the crux hidden deep in the consciousness.

4. The operation method

If an inferiority complex has already developed and self-confidence is being lost, the operation method can be used. The method is to find something that is easier and more sure to accomplish. After success, you will reap joy and then find another goal. In a period of time, try to avoid the setbacks of failure. Later, as self-confidence improves, gradually work towards more difficult and meaningful goals, and through continuous success, self-confidence can be restored and consolidated.

5. Compensation Law

That is, through hard work, with outstanding achievements in a certain area to compensate for physical defects or psychological inferiority complex (feeling of inferiority). To have an inferiority complex is to realize one’s own weaknesses and try to compensate. A strong sense of inferiority often prompts people to have an extraordinary development in other areas. This is the “compensatory effect” in psychology. That is, through compensation, the inferiority complex is transformed into a driving force for self-improvement. Beethoven, who is deaf, has become an epoch-making “joy”; many people have become outstanding people in this struggle for compensation.

An inferiority complex is like a mire. Finally, it is emphasized that there is no need to hesitate about “inferiority” on the road to success. As long as you control yourself, the road to success is under your feet.

The Conclusion

Inferiority is like a lonely twin sister. With inferiority, you can’t get rid of the haze of loneliness. Everyone may have a time of loneliness, but loneliness does not mean being alone. Loneliness is the lack of understanding of everything around, the lack of emotional and thought communication with the environment and the people around. If a person is immersed in the mental state of loneliness for a long time, it will cause obstacles to intellectual development, emotions, and language communication.

Inferiority means to underestimate one’s abilities and feel that one is inferior to others in all aspects. Inferiority complex can be said to be a personality defect. It is manifested as a low evaluation of one’s abilities and qualities and may be accompanied by some special emotional manifestations, such as shyness, restlessness, guilt, depression, disappointment, etc.

Low self-esteem can affect a person’s life, leading to a decline in the quality of life, social maladjustment, and so on. Here are five ways to overcome inferiority complex:

1. Psychological stress
2. Environmental infection
3. Correct understanding
4. Encourage yourself
5. Target incentives

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