One of the emotional complexes many of us with addiction and mental illness share in common is that of an inferiority complex. We perpetually feel inferior to other people, unworthy and inadequate. We feel as though we’re in competition with other people and that we never measure up. We feel easily threatened by the people who have the happiness, health and success we want for ourselves. We envy them and begrudge them their blessings. The mental and emotional ways in which we deal with our feelings of inferiority actually compound and exacerbate them. We make our own suffering considerably worse by the ways in which we handle it. How can we heal from an inferiority complex and learn to love ourselves?
Change Your Self-Talk
Our internal dialogue informs everything in our lives – how we think, speak and feel about ourselves, how we move through our lives, how we interact with other people. We manifest our life circumstances based on our internal energy. When we don’t love ourselves, we create more difficult situations for ourselves, more turmoil and toxicity, and ultimately more pain. Changing our self-talk is a hugely important step in healing from an inferiority complex. Start monitoring your thoughts about yourself. Are they cruel and disparaging? Are you your own worst critic and enemy? Shift these thoughts to be positive, uplifting, encouraging and kind. Tell yourself that you love yourself, that you are in fact good enough. Focus on your strengths, talents, gifts and accomplishments. Work on accepting yourself just as you are. Forgive yourself for past mistakes and wrongdoings. Recognize that your self-talk is the fuel for the fire of your manifestation power. You’ll only be able to manifest goodness in your life when you feel you deserve it.
Tackle Your Insecurities
Our inferiority complexes are usually rooted in insecurities we have yet to really examine and tackle. We’ve let them fester and run wild, out of control, until they’ve caused us tremendous pain, fear and sadness. Let’s start to confront our insecurities and investigate where they originated. Let’s also question their validity. Are we carrying shame from trauma we experienced? Are we allowing someone else’s unkind words to dictate how we feel about ourselves? While growing up, did we have people tell us we weren’t good enough? When we get to the root of our insecurities, we often find that they are based not in reality but in the illusions of our fears. When we confront these fears head on rather than distracting ourselves from them with toxic substances, behaviors and relationships, we stop allowing them to overpower us. We reclaim our sense of self and start to see just how strong and wonderful we actually are. Investigating our insecurities is a major, transformative step in healing from an inferiority complex.
At Pinnacle Recovery, we offer comprehensive, customizable care for adults who are struggling with addiction to drugs or alcohol, with a supportive staff and community, housed at our beautiful facilities in Utah. Call 1-866-301-0573 for more information.
