Getting rid of the inferiority complex. Inferiority complex test

Inferiority complex as a source of vital activity

In psychology, various personality complexes are defined and studied. But in everyday usage, the term "complex" is perceived as a synonym for an inferiority complex. In everyday life, they say about a timid, insecure, suspicious person that he is notorious.
It is rare to find a person who is completely satisfied with himself. But how to distinguish dissatisfaction with certain personality traits from a pathological complex? How to get rid of an inferiority complex and love yourself?

Feelings of inferiority and its compensation

An inferiority complex is a psychological phenomenon, a set of psychological sensations, ideas and attitudes towards oneself as a weak, flawed, useless person. At the same time, other people are perceived as worthy of respect, superior in everything, ideal. People with an inferiority complex believe that they will not be able to fulfill themselves, because they are incapable of this and unworthy.
Arising for the first time, the feeling of one's inferiority is fixed in the subconscious and becomes habitual. It turns into a complex - a psychopathological syndrome leading to neurotic deviations.
There are no perfectly perfect people, but each person is beautiful in his own uniqueness. Notorious people exaggerate their imperfection too much, they experience it very sharply and deeply.
The feeling of dissatisfaction with oneself negatively affects the well-being and behavior of the individual. This is undoubtedly a negative feeling, but it is also an incentive for personal achievement. Psychologist and psychiatrist Alfred Adler, who first described the concept of this term, defined it as an energy engine of mental activity and behavior.
According to A. Adler, every person in early childhood, being small and helpless, experiences a feeling of insufficiency, failure, as he realizes that he will not survive on his own (without parents). If there are no other factors additionally provoking the development of sensations, a person gets rid of a feeling of insecurity and helplessness. Experiences are compensated by vigorous activity aimed at achieving success in life.

There can be several reasons for the occurrence of a destructive complex:

Perhaps, everyone in life had situations when it happened to feel like a loser, stupid and incapable of anything. Mistakes are an incentive to become better, to achieve more. It is normal and natural if a person is dissatisfied with himself when there are real reasons for that.
The problem is that the pathological complex continues to exist despite the successes and achievements of the individual. The next personal victories in life are a way to compensate for your negative feelings, to prove to yourself and to show others your success and viability. But the anomalous feeling of inferiority requires more and more compensation over and over again, and subsequently overcompensation.
There may come a moment when the amount of overcompensation turns into a new quality, and the inferiority complex will give rise to another opposite defect - the superiority complex. This is not always the case.
A. Adler considered power, striving and will to it to be the best way of overcompensation. Thus, the child's sense of weakness and insufficiency repressed into the subconscious, at best, becomes a permanent stimulus and source of human activity, and at worst - the cause of frustration, pessimism, depression and other mental disorders.
A person who is completely satisfied with himself, does not see or does not want to look for ways for development, stops and stops growing as a person. Notorious people see what their flaw is and how to become better, strive to achieve the goal, and with it to know success and respect, make attempts again and again. They achieve a lot in life, but they are rarely happy.
In order for the desire for success and self-realization not to be a means of compensating for a chronic sense of one's own inferiority and failure, but to manifest itself as a natural social and spiritual need, the complex must be overcome.

Inferiority complex in men and women

Women's psychology is different from men's. Women are more sensitive to their shortcomings, they are more likely to be influenced by other people's opinions, they tend to compare themselves with others and criticize, therefore an inferiority complex is observed in women more often than in men.

In women, it is usually associated with the fact that they:

Sometimes a notorious person tries to escape from himself with the help of various kinds of addictions. Men abuse alcohol when they want to “fill in” dislike for themselves, and women more often “seize” it with sweets.

How to get rid of the complex yourself

It is not always possible to overcome the feeling of limitation and inferiority on one's own. If the complex turns out to be stronger than the will of the individual, the help of a psychologist will be needed. When the problem is rooted in childhood, experienced psychological trauma, is based on strong resentment, anger, guilt, fear or other difficult feelings, it is quite difficult to cope with it on your own. Psychological consultations, psychological trainings, psychotherapy will help to understand the causes of an inferiority complex, restore self-confidence, increase self-esteem, and realize one's own uniqueness and value.

Recommendations on how to get rid of an inferiority complex on your own include tips:
1. Get rid of the feeling of envy, stop being angry at yourself and other people for being different.
2. Do not equal others, do not compare yourself with anyone.
3. Do not create idols for yourself, do not strive for an ephemeral ideal.
4. Adequately perceive the subjective assessment of one's personality from the outside, subject unethical statements of other people to internal criticism, and take constructive comments calmly.
5. Notice and realize your own achievements, successes, praise yourself for them.
6. See mistakes and failures as normal manifestations of personal growth, an opportunity to better understand life and become wiser.
7. Don't blame yourself, don't reproach, don't engage in soul-searching, don't come up with punishments for yourself and don't hang labels.
8. Get rid of negative feelings and memories, forgive yourself and people for mistakes.
9. Set specific, realistic goals for self-development and achieve them.
10. Communicate with self-confident people and individuals who have overcome the complex.
11. Develop as a person culturally and intellectually.

The most important thing that a notorious person should do is to love and believe in himself, to realize and accept his own characteristics, individuality and uniqueness.

Inferiority complex in men

Many actions of men often remain inexplicable for women. In fact, they are all due to the peculiarities of male psychology. Surely most of our readers see a man as someone very strong, with unlimited possibilities and no weaknesses. But it's not! Any person can have an inferiority complex, even the most wonderful man. Therefore, knowing in advance the main syndromes that can overtake your chosen one at any moment, you will not remain defenseless against his "oddities".

Inferiority complex and its types

What is an inferiority complex? According to psychologists, this is a psychological feeling, expressed in irrational thoughts about the superiority of other people and a sense of one's own worthlessness. Constantly at the subconscious level there is an idea: “I am worse than others. I don't deserve anything. I am a loser".

An inferiority complex can form for a number of reasons. Most often this is due to the characteristics of the parental family. Just imagine: a small person is growing, and his mom and dad are constantly pointing out his mistakes and inability to do something perfectly. Gradually, he develops a deep belief in his own inferiority. Various psychological traumas received at school, for example, when classmates tease a child intensely, have exactly the same effect. If in the future such a person will make mistakes (and this is inevitable), then this will only increase the inferiority complex. In general, any attempt to suppress individuality ends very, very badly for their object.

The inferiority complex is manifested in the fact that a person is not just unsure of himself - he is constantly looking for approval from others, trying to compensate for the low ratings of adults he received earlier. In doing so, he tries to draw attention to his suffering by flaunting it and playing the role of a victim. Such people, as a rule, are afraid of contacts with others - their social circle is extremely narrow, they have few friends and acquaintances. They feel constant tension and cannot get rid of it.

A person in whose mind an inferiority complex lives does everything to avoid the slightest mistakes on his life path, because each of them testifies to his inferiority. Men, on the other hand, are most often characterized by excessive arrogance (remember Napoleon?), increased aggressiveness, the desire to prove their masculinity, and a craving for status things.

At the same time, an inferiority complex can have completely different “faces”. Since the causes of its occurrence and manifestations can be radically different from each other, psychologists have accumulated a lot of descriptions of various syndromes, in the center of which there is a deep self-doubt:

• King David Syndrome. This biblical character, in order to warm his aging body, lured young beauties to bed. Many modern men also hope to look younger with the help of a young partner. Perhaps some of them manage to start a new life with a young chosen one. But choosing a very young girl as a partner, a man needs to be prepared for any trouble. Very often, people around take such a couple for a father and daughter, darkening their lives with various issues.

• Boss Syndrome. As a rule, this inferiority complex is laid in the character of the future man almost from birth. Parents of babies, neglecting "female" traits, thereby stimulate the development of "male" traits. Getting rid of the “boss” syndrome is almost impossible, so a man has to defend his superiority all his life. For example, 70% of men suffer greatly when they fall under the control of a woman. 64% of the representatives of the stronger sex complex if the chosen one earns more. 58% of men's lives are overshadowed by a feeling of envy for the professional success of their girlfriend in life.

• Napoleon Syndrome. For most men, small stature is a real tragedy. However, this shortcoming in most cases is more than compensated by crazy ambitions and vanity. Moreover, such people are successful in almost everything, because the desire with which they achieve it turns out to be very great.

• Syndrome of wasted time. There's nothing you can do about it, this is how a person works: he wants everything and as soon as possible. Therefore, often the need to reduce the load and “slow down” after fifty years in 80% of men turns into a bitter disappointment. In such cases, most of the stronger sex becomes even more vulnerable.

• infertility syndrome. The assertion that a man at any age is “always ready” for sexual exploits is nothing more than a beautiful myth that is responsible for the emergence of more than a dozen male neuroses. Every man, the older he gets, is more and more afraid of "being not up to par." Therefore, any social failure cannot be compared with disappointment in one's own male powers.

• Lot syndrome. After the destruction of the cities of Gomorrah and Sadom, this biblical character, escaping with his daughters in the caves, continued the human race there. Many fathers with adult daughters have a similar -unconscious dream. However, to cope with such a syndrome is quite easy, especially since it manifests itself extremely rarely. And the point here is purely in the instinctive desire of the father to consider the chosen one of his daughter as a rival, and not at all in sexual perversions.

• Hercules Syndrome. This syndrome occurs in men who become completely dependent on women, forcing them to do things that are unusual for him. By the way, in most modern families this is the main reason why conflicts occur.

• Kotovsky's syndrome. Why do you think men shave their heads? Yes, because baldness for them is like a disaster. Hiding in this way a bald patch that is breaking through, they are trying to get away from shame, closely linking it with the loss of male power. However, in fact - from any point of view - this is absurd. A shaved head symbolizes masculinity, although it is a reliable disguise for the loss of hair on the head.

• Don Juan Syndrome. Perhaps this syndrome is the most common. After all, throwing women is “purely a man’s business.” Therefore, no man considers the breakup of love relationships a privilege of women. How can you soothe the easily traumatized male soul? Today, everything can be attributed to the rapid development of emancipation.

• Alexander Syndrome. This exotic syndrome men are most ashamed of. Few people know that most of all a man is afraid that he will be considered insufficiently courageous, or rather a homosexual. For half of the men, even the suspicion of others in their non-standard orientation can cause severe stress.

How to deal with it?

If you have found at least one such complex in your chosen one, then do not rush to sound the alarm. Psychologists believe that it is not always necessary to interfere in someone else's life - a person must want it himself, otherwise there will be no sense. It is possible that with the help of such a syndrome, a man compensates for some of his other shortcomings, and at the moment the psyche system is in a delicate balance. It is not known what else will “crawl out” from the hidden corners of the soul, if you now begin to actively “shatter” the existing complexes.

However, if it is obvious that in this way a man spoils his life very much, then something needs to be done about it. First, praise and support your man more often. Such is the female function, and our insecure chosen ones especially need it. Emphasize what your partner is doing well and what is just great. Shortcomings should be reported carefully and correctly, preferably in the form of “I-statements”: “I feel sad when you ...”.

Most men believe that they need to be a sort of supermen, afraid of nothing and no one. But it's impossible! Explain to your partner that it's okay to be worried or afraid of something. Fear performs a defensive function and helps a person go in the right direction. And those men who do not show it, just hide it deep inside themselves. Usually the situation is further complicated by the fact that a person begins to be afraid of his own fear, because it seems to him a manifestation of weakness.

You can even play a playful game called “Beat Your Complex”. When you find what's stopping your partner from living happily ever after, make it your enemy. Every time the complex manifests itself, the man will not have to follow his lead. On the contrary, it will be necessary to do something that will help him “click” the complex on the nose.

Do you think it's easy to live in the world with such "purely masculine" problems? We don't think it's very good. Men are our support and strength, which also has its weaknesses. So let's not once again overshadow their already difficult life!

Which lies in a person's persistent confidence in his own inferiority as a person. K. n. was discovered by A. Adler, who studied the forms of compensation that develop in children with defects in organic development. Adler first considered their feeling of inferiority as a consequence of a defect, then as a universal driving force in the development of personality, and even later as a consequence of the frustration of the need to overcome adverse circumstances. The inability to compensate for a defect or cope with a life situation and thereby overcome the feeling of one's own inferiority entails the development of the latter into a K. n.

Brief psychological dictionary. - Rostov-on-Don: PHOENIX. L.A. Karpenko, A.V. Petrovsky, M. G. Yaroshevsky. 1998 .

Inferiority complex

(complex of low value)

A psychopathological syndrome leading to neurotic deviations, which consists in a person's persistent confidence in his own inferiority as a person. It was discovered by A. Adler, who studied the forms of compensation that develop in children with defects in organic development. He initially considered their feeling of inferiority as a consequence of a defect, then as a universal driving force for the development of personality, and even later as a consequence of the frustration of the need to overcome unfavorable circumstances. The inability to compensate for a defect or cope with a life situation and thus overcome the feeling of one's own inferiority entails the development of the latter into an inferiority complex. The “feeling of inferiority” formed in early childhood is caused by the natural experience for each child of a sense of his own insufficiency, arising from various unfavorable external conditions, and has an exceptional impact on the formation and entire life activity of the personality. Later, this feeling is forced into the unconscious, due to which it is given the character of constant insatiability. The desire for a positive experience of a sense of competence - for self-assertion (socialization) among other people - stimulates various activities in which real or imaginary success is possible. The individual tries to overcome - "compensate" - inferiority by simulating creative possibilities and thus sometimes achieves exceptional results (overcompensation). Z. Freud sometimes also used this concept, but did not recognize such an exclusive role for him. According to the French writer Jean Dutour, the worst thing about an inferiority complex is that it is by no means those who should have it.

Dictionary of practical psychologist. - M.: AST, Harvest. S. Yu. Golovin. 1998 .

Inferiority complex Etymology.

Comes from lat. complexus - combination.

The theoretical construct of individual psychology, designed to explain human activity.

Denotes the energy potential of mental activity, caused by the experience of each person in early childhood, a sense of their own insufficiency. In this case, this feeling is forced out into the unconscious and, due to this character, it is given a constant insatiability. The desire for a positive experience of a sense of competence stimulates various activities in which real or imaginary success is possible.

Feelings of inferiority.

Psychological Dictionary. THEM. Kondakov. 2000 .

Inferiority complex

   INFERIORITY COMPLEX (With. 311) - a heightened, exaggerated experience of one's own weakness and imperfection. One of the key concepts of individual psychology by Alfred Adler, to whom this term belongs. The concept is widely used in everyday speech in a not entirely adequate sense. In this case, as a rule, it means that a person does not value himself highly and suffers from self-doubt. This phenomenon, which in fact occurs quite often, would be more correctly defined in terms of low self-esteem. However, in Adler's view, the content of the inferiority complex is not identical to low self-esteem, or at least is not limited to it.

Adler formulated his concept of inferiority, initially based on the results of a study of children suffering from various physical defects. He believed that a bodily defect gives rise to a natural feeling of one's own imperfection, inferiority; in parallel, the child has a desire to overcome, compensate for the defect, and it is the desire for compensation that is the driving force of development. This idea was creatively rethought and developed by LSVypotsky (although Vygotsky has few references to Adler, his influence can be traced quite clearly), who laid the foundations of domestic defectology - one of the central principles in Vygotsky's defectological concept is the principle of defect compensation.

Subsequently, Adler extended his ideas to all children, including those not burdened with physical defects. He believed that a child, who is still small, weak and inept in comparison with adults, is thereby already doomed to a feeling of inferiority. A person, unlike animals, is born weak, defenseless and helpless, that is, from the moment of birth, he constantly experiences a lack of his strength and limited opportunities.

It is extremely important, however, that for Adler the idea of ​​inferiority is not identical with pathology. He wrote: “Feelings of inferiority are not in themselves something painful or abnormal. They are the cause of all improvements in the condition of mankind."

In individual psychology, the feeling of inferiority is considered as a general condition for human existence. It is inherent in all people from birth without exception. Not being a mental disorder, it, on the contrary, contributes to the healthy development of a person, the achievement of success in life.

Feeling dissatisfaction with his weakness, a person activates his activity - he seeks to compensate for the shortcomings he has from birth, to overcome his inferiority, to assert himself in life. Burdened by his imperfection, he does everything to become more perfect. In this regard, the feeling of inferiority is a stimulus for the development of his life activity, becomes the driving force behind the socially useful activity of a person.

There are examples from history when the desire to overcome one's inferiority led to outstanding results. So, Demosthenes, who from birth suffered from speech defects, thanks to his desire to cope with the disease, became the greatest orator. Or, for example, the legendary commander Suvorov - in childhood he was extremely weak and sickly, but at the cost of selfless exercises he managed to achieve exceptional physical stamina and endurance.

At the same time, it is quite obvious that the painful experience of one's own inferiority can give rise to a person's lack of self-confidence, which by no means contributes to his social adaptation, creates numerous problems. And at any age. On this occasion, Adler aptly remarked: “In their dreams, children express their ambitions. Most of their fantasies begin with the words "when I grow up" ... There are quite a few adults who also live as if they have not yet grown up.

Exacerbation of feelings of inferiority can lead to a pathological manifestation of this feeling. That is, according to Adler, it is not inferiority itself that is decisive, but the strength and nature of its perception by a person. If experiences of inferiority begin to dominate a person's mental life, coloring it in negative emotional tones, a person loses the ability to positively develop his creative powers and talents. Feeling no strength in himself to truly compensate for insufficiency, he chooses perverted compensatory paths. This is the pathological nature of the inferiority complex.

In the ordinary view, a person suffering from an inferiority complex appears as a timid, shy creature, prone to despondency and self-flagellation. According to Adler's observations, the manifestations of this disorder are quite different. The reverse side of the inferiority complex is often the so-called superiority complex - a person by all means strives to rise above other people in order to compensate for his inferiority; arrogance, arrogance and complacency take the upper hand in it. The means of achieving superiority are usually all sorts of social symbols - material and status. To compensate for his complex, a person can strive for enrichment, in every possible way emphasizing the importance of money as a measure of success in life, or to acquire all kinds of titles and high positions that allow him, despite his modest abilities, to assert his superiority over others. So unbridled careerism, the pursuit of tools and symbols of power (one of which, quite obviously, in human society is money) in many cases is not so much a manifestation of strength as a symptom of weakness. Characteristically, all kinds of guides to enrichment and success in life, instructions for manipulating people are the favorite reading of losers. So the arrogant nouveau riche, who considers beggars everyone who is not as rich as he, and the tyrant boss, and the titled narcissist, whose business card is neatly dotted with his loud titles, and the domestic tyrant, harassing loved ones with his nit-picking - all of them most often victims of the notorious complex.

Another manifestation of an inferiority complex may be the desire for one's own exclusivity by opposing oneself to others, leaving a full-fledged social life - "into oneself" or into a closed caste of the same notorious persons. For a psychologist, it is obvious that the majority of adherents of all kinds of exotic teachings and delusional theories are weak, helpless people who are unable to assert themselves in the ways accepted in society. Contrasting themselves with the “uninitiated” helps them to feel an illusory sense of their superiority and thereby overcome the oppressive feeling of their worthlessness.

An inferiority complex can also be expressed in exaggeration, emphasizing one's weakness, up to "flight into the disease." Desperate to achieve recognition from others, not being able to back up his self-esteem with real successes and achievements, a person sometimes begins, paradoxically, to revel in his failures, defeats and even illnesses. Moreover, he can unconsciously provoke the occurrence of various painful symptoms in order to at least in this way attract attention to himself and arouse the compassion of loved ones.

According to Adler, neurosis develops on the basis of an inferiority complex. Faced with intractable problems, the neurotic does not even try to solve them, he evades constructive activity. He finds or creates his own field of activity in the imaginary world. Through various tricks, the neurotic achieves "success" in this imaginary world, which makes him feel like an outstanding person. He surrenders to the power of megalomania, forces others to reckon with their whims, focusing only on their own - for the most part perverted - ideas and ignoring others.

Alfred Adler

Adler believed that the origins of the inferiority complex should be sought in childhood. In his opinion, they provoke the emergence of the complex, firstly, of course, natural organic imperfection and weakness (children with all kinds of disorders here, in fact, are the most vulnerable), and secondly, educational defects, moreover, of two kinds. Both hypo-custody, lack of attention and educational influence on the part of parents, and hyper-custody - excessive attention and care can lead to an aggravation of feelings of inferiority. And since a rare family manages to reach the golden mean between these two extremes, the emergence of an inferiority complex in an emerging personality is a very likely prospect.

The goal of psychotherapy according to Adler is to rid a person of the destructive consequences of an exaggerated sense of inferiority. Through treatment aimed at correcting the mistakes of education, the awakening of a person's sense of community with other people (“public interest”) is carried out. The rejection of perverse ways of compensating for inferiority, the emergence of a desire for self-affirmation due to the well-deserved encouragement by others of a person’s real virtues and achievements means movement in the direction of mental health.

In our day, when the cult of individualism, unreasonably borrowed from outside, is obsessively implanted, the very concept of “public interest” introduced by Adler is met with a wary attitude among many. And it would be quite useful to listen to his words, which have not lost their relevance to this day: “A person who is not interested in his fellows experiences the greatest difficulties in life and causes the greatest harm to others. It is in the midst of such people that losers appear.

Popular psychological encyclopedia. - M.: Eksmo. S.S. Stepanov. 2005 .

See what an "inferiority complex" is in other dictionaries:

INFERIORITY COMPLEX- a term of individual psychology by Alfred Adler, which has gone out of its purely terminological use and has become an everyday concept in the speech of modern citizens. Adler was one of the closest students and associates of Freud (along with C. G. Jung ... ... Encyclopedia of cultural studies

Inferiority complex- A medical term that came into wide circulation after the publication of the book “On the Inferiority of Organs” (1907) by the Austrian psychiatrist, psychologist, student of Freud and founder of “individual psychology” Alfred Adler (1870 1937). Author… … Dictionary of winged words and expressions

INFERIORITY COMPLEX- in psychology and psychoanalysis, a sense of one's own inferiority, failure, due to real or imaginary physical or mental shortcomings ... Modern Encyclopedia

Inferiority complex- in psychology and psychoanalysis, a sense of one's own inferiority, failure, due to real or imaginary physical or mental deficiencies. … Illustrated Encyclopedic Dictionary

INFERIORITY COMPLEX- see Complex, in psychology ... Big Encyclopedic Dictionary

Inferiority complex- a theoretical concept in the individual psychology of A. Adler, denoting the energy potential of mental activity, caused by the experience of each person in early childhood, a sense of his own insufficiency. This is being pushed out.... Psychological Dictionary

Roots of the origin of the inferiority complex

An inferiority complex is a set of certain psychological and emotional states of a person, characterized as a feeling of depression, worthlessness, insignificance. Like many destructive mental processes,

complexes only progress with time and have a significant impact on a person's behavior and, as a result, his fate. According to psychologists, an inferiority complex begins to form in early childhood, when the child first realizes the limitations of his abilities and desires, as well as the impermanence of his physical body. Our Ego is desperately trying to achieve balance, to return to the world of its omnipotence again. However, at the same time, a person cannot live outside of society, in isolation there are no factors for the formation of a full-fledged personality, but at the same time it imposes certain restrictions. Representatives of depth psychology argue that one of the most powerful motivators of human activity is the fear of death. It is he who makes people live in society, take care of each other, think about tomorrow. Man himself has created an artificial world in which he feels more or less comfortable, he does not feel alone in front of the might of the universe. And the inferiority complex, which at first glance seems to be only the fear of being rejected, actually has deeper and more ancient roots.

The mechanism of behavior of a notorious person

As the "father" of the "collective unconscious" Carl Jung believed, in society we are only

we play a role behind which we hide our true face. The inferiority complex is only the result of the fear of the collapse of one's inflated "I" when confronted with
reality. The process of its formation is as follows: fears give rise to self-doubt, which prevents the use of all available life opportunities. Despair from a lost chance breaks out of the unconscious into our thoughts in the form of negative emotions: envy, sadness, anger, guilt, longing. In order to restore a normal state of mind, an insecure person seeks to assert himself at the expense of relatives, friends, and simply those who are weaker. For people with a similar complex, painful egoism is characteristic, in severe cases reaching megalomania. The reason for this is the compensatory mechanism of the subconscious, which seeks to compensate for the individual's hatred of himself with the admiration of others.

Inferiority complex and its overcoming

No wonder they say that awareness of the problem is already 50 percent of a successful result.

You should not immediately look for reasons in others, just as you should not build castles in the air or, even worse, fall into alcoholic oblivion. To cope with yourself, you need a lot of mental work. It is important to delve deeply into yourself and understand what are the reasons for your behavior and your problems. Such sessions are recommended to be carried out with an experienced psychologist who can correctly indicate the path to overcoming mental trauma. Meditation is another effective method of introspection. Experts recommend keeping a personal diary in which you should be as honest with yourself as possible. Only by realizing all your weaknesses and admitting: "Yes, I have an inferiority complex," you can begin a self-esteem rehabilitation program.