Many people struggle with feelings of insecurity. Whether you’re making a difficult decision or looking for more confidence, overcoming insecurity is an important first step. The good news is, you can move forward in the right direction and begin overcoming insecurity today.
Why Do People Struggle With Insecurity?
You’ve likely met many people who struggle with insecurity. Most of the time, it’s a silent struggle. It’s common for everyone to feel a lack of self-confidence from time to time. But if your inability to feel secure causes major stress in your life, you need to take action. If left unchecked, self-doubt can keep you from pursuing your goals, cause tension in relationships and lead to unhealthy coping mechanisms.
Where does self-doubt come from? And why do so many people have trouble feeling secure with themselves?
One theory is that insecurities are formed during childhood when people experience negativity — whether negative ideas are directed at them or they observe caregivers expressing negative ideas about themselves. Childhood insecurities can persist into adulthood and cause problems with self-confidence and mental health.
How to Overcome Insecurity
Once we understand our insecurities and where they come from, we can begin to overcome them. Here are four tips to start becoming more secure with yourself:
- Balance negative thoughts with positive ones: To calm insecurity, try to come up with one positive thought for every negative one. If you notice the negative thought “I can’t do this,” you might replace it with the positive thought, “I’m going to try my best.”
- Question your negative perceptions: Sometimes our most negative thoughts are irrational or not based on reality. If you have negative ideas about yourself, see whether or not you have strong, factual evidence for those perceptions.
- Forgive yourself: Everyone makes mistakes, and your mistakes are not moral failings. Instead, they are situations you have the power to respond to. When you forgive yourself for wrong choices in the past, you can learn and take steps forward.
- Get support from others: Other people can provide the encouragement and outside perspective you need to move forward. If insecurity is a frequent struggle in your life, you may want to seek out help from a mental health professional.
Feel Secure in Your Path to Recovery With 7 Summit Pathways
Starting the Recovery process can stir many feelings of insecurity. You’ve made the commitment to get treatment, but you may not know what to expect. At 7 Summit Pathways, we work hard to help patients feel secure by offering the personalized treatment, tools and support they need for long-term Recovery.
To talk with one of our experienced, compassionate professionals, please schedule an appointment or reach out to us today.