Insecurities are brought on when we recognize differences between ourselves and others, either on our own or through someone else pointing it out. For example, a child who is teased on the playground at school for being in a larger body than their peers may come to feel insecure about their weight and body.
A major cause for a person to gradually become insecure is his/her share of bad experiences. They could be around broken trust, cheating, disturbed childhood, traumatising episodes in school, feeling of not being loved enough, ignorance, etc. A sort of a fear sets in no matter how strong you try to project yourself.
For many, feelings of insecurity can be resolved before they have a lasting, harmful impact. When one deals with generalized insecurity for a long period of time, however, the doubt and negative feelings experienced may have a significant effect on life.
Some of the many causes of low self-esteem may include: Unhappy childhood where parents (or other significant people such as teachers) were extremely critical. Poor academic performance in school resulting in a lack of confidence. Ongoing stressful life event such as relationship breakdown or financial trouble.
The best way to regain confidence is to remind yourself of your capabilities, address the obstacles that keep you from feeling confident, and work around those obstacles. "Don't feel badly if you can't do everything you once did, or at the same level or intensity," says Silverstone.
What Is Insecurity? Insecurity is a feeling of inadequacy (not being good enough) and uncertainty. It produces anxiety about your goals, relationships, and ability to handle certain situations.
A root fear: Overthinking stems from a particular insecurity or root fear. This insecurity may be from childhood, a past relationship, or general low self-esteem or trust issues.
According to a study from Yahoo Health of 1,993 women and teens age 13 to 64, feelings of body insecurity can begin from as young as nine or 10 years of age.
Most people feel insecure from time to time, but when insecurity starts to interfere with your daily life, you may want to get to the root causes. Insecurity may come from your attachment style, a personality disorder, living with anxiety, or not having emotional support.
Insecurities can come from many circumstances – such as poor academic scores, stressful life experiences, abusive relationships, chronic health conditions and mental issues, among others. But these past circumstances don't have to rob you of your present… nor do they have to create anxiety concerning the future.
A good way to feel more secure and confident with yourself is by accomplishing your goals. Many people feel troubled when they cannot achieve their goals, but instead of beating yourself up, consider whether your goals are achievable or even measurable.
"You may have all the trust in the world that your partner isn't going to cheat on you but still feel insecure," says Jeney. Our core insecurities, she adds, often stem from attachment wounds, which is a way to describe any time there was a significant relationship that has ruptured our trust in the past.
Emotional insecurity
An insecure person lacks confidence in their own value, and one or more of their capabilities, lacks trust in themselves or others, or has fears that a present positive state is temporary, and will let them down and bring about loss or distress by "going wrong" in the future.
Typically, people who feel insecure often have a fear of not being good enough, or not having enough to offer others. A person who feels insecure may suffer from an inferiority complex, which makes them believe they will never be good enough to be loved or wanted.
1. BEAUTY. Beauty is by far the biggest insecurity women report.
While I contend that insecurity is a self-sustained mental disorder in its own right, we must also appreciate the role it plays in burnishing other conditions. There seems to be a two-way nexus between insecurity and various personality disorders.
For some reason, the message that you are not good enough is the one that stays with you. Perhaps you found it difficult to live up to other people's expectations of you, or to your own expectations. Stress and difficult life events, such as serious illness or a bereavement, can have a negative effect on self-esteem.
Recognising what you're good at, and trying to build on those things, will help you to build confidence in your own abilities. Set some goals and set out the steps you need to take to achieve them. They don't have to be big goals; they can even be things like baking a cake or planning a night out with friends.
A big red flag is the partner attempting to drive a wedge in between the victim and their support network. Low self-esteem. If your friend has low self esteem – especially when their partner is the one often at the root of their insecurity, that's a huge red flag. Abusers will often try to put down their victims.