What are the causes that lead to feelings of inferiority?

[Cosima]

This is a wonderful topic, please more opinions!.

I think, that feeling of inferiority are rather common, and have diverse roots. Sometimes, even if you are loved and had perfect childhood ( in my case), negative comments from people you look up to, little things can cause low self-esteem. I think it is also when you are not valued and ignored. But it depends in which kind of society you are. When you are introvert among extroverted family members you will not realize you are just different and that is okay, you start to blame yourself.

In my opinion healthy self-esteem depends of good self-perception, truthfulness to yourself and others and not comparing. It is realizing that your life experience is completely yours.

 

[sassafras]

i'm not sure I agree with people who say children don't come into the world with a sense of inferiority.Nurture does play a role, but not nearly so large a role as to give it a paint palette and a beret and invite it to splash paint on the blank canvas of childhood. Part of personality is genetic and provides a 'base' for which we have to start with. No two young children react to the environment the same way. From the get go, you can immediately see which children are going to have a better start on being able to manage themselves and their emotions, even before the traditional age of seven wherein the personality a person is said to carry into adulthood has fully finished developing.

But whether feelings of inferiority are instilled by environment or the predisposition for such are granted by the genetic code of one of our predecessors, I think it comes down to how we see ourselves in relations to others. Are we weaker than most people? Or stronger? Do we have the capabilities to improve our status if we'd like? Do we trust in those capabilities? Or do we secretly garner some key benefit in thinking and behaving in inferior ways even though we consciously fight against the idea of inferiority?

Self-esteem is directly linked to this and in many cases, its a chicken-and-egg problem. Is low self-esteem responsible for feelings of inferiority or is it the other way around?

The good news is, feelings and behaviours can change depending on how we consistently behave and talk to ourselves, and even alter our genetic code. So even if you do grapple with feelings of inferiority, where it comes from shouldn't really matter. Given how intricate and tangled the human psyche is, you probably won't even be able to identify a singular source, no matter what the therapist you're paying $130/hr says. What matters is being aware of it and taking steps to change it and making adjustments along the way.

 

[Lark]

When I open this forum in a smaller window the title of the thread is just what causes feelings and I think that would be a cool topic too