Insecurity Meaning
What Does Insecure Mean?
Feeling insecure means you lack confidence or are unsure of your abilities.
Feeling insecure can also bring doubt, anxiety, and negative thoughts that can compromise your sense of self-worth.
An estimated one in five adults live with an anxiety disorder. However, it is very likely that the number of people who experience insecurity is much higher.
Whether you are diagnosed with an anxiety disorder or not, developing skills to manage insecurity can lead to a healthier daily life.
Is It Unhealthy to Be Insecure?
Occasional insecurity is normal, but constant self-doubt, negative self-talk, and low confidence can lead to anxiety, depression, and low self-esteem, harming your mental health over time.
Insecurity and feelings of inadequacy can also inform symptoms of depression.
Overcoming insecurity can take time. However, with time and support from mental health professionals and people who love you, you can overcome insecurity and self-doubt.
What Are Self-Conscious Emotions?
Self-conscious emotions are thoughts and emotions that reflect how you feel about yourself or how you believe others see you. These feelings include:
- Guilt
- Embarrassment
- Jealousy
- Pride
These self-conscious emotions can be closely tied to feelings of insecurity and mental health disorders like anxiety or depression.
A negative perception of yourself can also affect social situations, personal relationships, and if you experience social anxiety.
What Is Another Word for Insecure?
Other words for insecurity include:
- Low self-esteem
- Self-consciousness
- Lack of self-confidence
- Uncertainty
Signs of Insecurity in a Person
How Do Insecure People Act?
Excessive bragging that attempts to mask insecurities and constant complaining are some common behaviors of insecure people.
Insecurity can also cause a person to be sensitive to criticism, become risk-averse in their decision-making, and struggle with motivation. It can also cause them to avoid social situations or other isolation practices.
Feelings of insecurity can also cause a person to need validation and positive feedback following any action.
This can lead to feelings of perfectionism.
Someone experiencing insecurity may believe they must be perfect to be considered “good enough.”
What Are the Physical Signs of Low Self-Esteem?
Slumped posture and body language, avoiding eye contact, nervous habits, or withdrawing from social situations can all be physical signs of low self-esteem.
Is Overthinking a Sign of Insecurity?
Yes, overthinking can be a sign of insecurity. When you lack confidence in yourself or your decisions, you may overanalyze situations, fearing mistakes, judgment, or rejection.
This constant second-guessing often stems from self-doubt or fear of not being good enough, which are common traits of insecurity.
Overthinking can create a cycle of worry and hesitation, making it harder to trust your instincts or feel at ease.
Overthinking, alongside other signs of insecurity, can be a reason to talk to a mental health professional about your potential insecurities and develop a treatment plan.
What Are Some Common Insecurities?
Some common insecurities you may experience include insecurity about body image, social insecurity, fear of rejection, and perfectionism.
Common insecurities often fall into these categories:
- Appearance: Concerns about weight, skin, hair, height, or other physical features.
- Social: Fear of judgment, rejection, or not fitting in with others.
- Relationships: Worry about being abandoned, not being good enough for a partner, or comparisons to others.
- Career/Success: Doubts about skills, job performance, or financial stability.
- Intelligence: Feeling inadequate or less knowledgeable compared to others.
- Health: Anxiety about physical or mental health issues, or fear of illness.
- Life Choices: Regret or uncertainty about major decisions, like career paths or lifestyle.
Social media and advertising can set unrealistic expectations, leading to a lack of confidence in your own appearance. Feeling insecure about your body can also affect your confidence in other areas of life.
Feelings of insecurity can also stem from harmful stigmas and stereotypes, particularly around traditional “masculine” or “feminine” traits.
These insecurities can be present in anyone.
For example, a man enjoying a hobby that is perceived as more “feminine” by traditional standards like crochet or baking can experience feelings of insecurity about these interests.
Causes of Insecurity
Identifying the cause of your insecurity is hard. You may also feel symptoms of insecurity without knowing exactly where these feelings come from.
Working with a mental health professional like those at Sandstone Care is crucial. To stop feeling insecure, you must identify the root cause of insecurity, which may demand a professional, outside perspective.
Why Am I So Insecure?
Feeling insecure often comes from life experiences and the pressure to measure up. If you’ve faced things like bullying, rejection, or harsh criticism, it can leave you doubting your worth or abilities.
Social media and constant comparisons to others can make this worse, making it feel like everyone else has it all figured out.
Unrealistic expectations—whether from society, family, or yourself—can add even more pressure, leaving you feeling like you’re not enough.
Without a strong support system to help you feel valued and accepted, those insecurities can grow and impact how you see yourself.
Why Am I So Insecure in My Relationship?
Romantic relationships are a common place to experience insecurity. For some, childhood trauma or an unhealthy home atmosphere can lead to insecurities in relationships.
Others may have a history that makes it difficult to trust others or may experience intense feelings of jealousy that can impact the health of these relationships.
Lastly, fear of being abandoned can lead to preemptively emotionally distancing yourself from a potential partner to “protect” yourself from a potential breakup.
Likewise, a past breakup can affect your future relationships as it may impact feelings of trust or bring feelings of self-doubt.
What Personality Disorder Is Insecure?
Feeling insecure itself is not enough to diagnose you with a personality disorder. However, it can commonly be one symptom of borderline personality disorder (BPD) or avoidant personality disorder (AvPD).
Talking to a mental health professional is the only way to explore the signs and symptoms of these disorders. It can also help you explore how they may apply to your life or explore a potential diagnosis for BPD, AvPD, or other mental health issues.
Does Social Media Make People Insecure?
Yes, social media can increase feelings of insecurity in your daily life. Excessive use of social media can affect feelings of insecurity by:
- Setting unhealthy expectations of yourself
- Affecting your body image
- Exposing you to peer pressures
- Reinforcing harmful stigmas
This can lead to feelings of inadequacy, depression, anxiety, self-doubt, and more as a person compares their daily life to the social media posts of others.
How to Stop Being Insecure
How Do I Overcome My Insecurity?
To overcome your insecurity, working alongside professionals can provide many advantages, including:
- Practicing daily affirmations
- Confronting difficult feelings in a safe environment
- Setting achievable goals
- Managing expectations and perfectionism
- Exploring personal forgiveness
- Challenging negative thoughts and beliefs
- Exploring self-compassion
It is common to need the support of professionals and family members to explore these complex feelings when overcoming insecurity. Many of these practices can feel uncomfortable or foreign if you are just beginning your healing journey.
However, professional treatment programs may be necessary to embrace a positive self-image and develop effective self-care routines.
Overcoming insecurity also involves creating a healthy at-home atmosphere. Friends, family members, and loved ones are also a part of your healing journey.
Making changes at home and reinforcing an atmosphere of acceptance, self-love, and forgiveness can be instrumental in maintaining your healthy approach to overcoming insecurities in daily life.
Having family and friends learn about the effects of insecurity can also help create a healthy social environment for practicing self-confidence as part of your journey to change.
How to Stop Being Insecure in a Relationship
Overcoming personal insecurities in a relationship is complicated. It involves exploring feelings of trust and vulnerability. It can also include:
- Practicing effective communication
- Learning to advocate for personal needs
- Setting healthy expectations
- Exploring trust and forgiveness to yourself and others
Incorporating positive self-talk to challenge feelings of self-doubt about the relationship can also be a necessary part of your journey.
Establishing personal boundaries in these relationships can be important to continue focusing on your healing and identity outside of the relationship.
Challenging ideas of perfectionism and setting healthy expectations in a relationship are also important. This means being able to take things slow in a new romantic relationship and knowing that there will be some bumps along the way.
However, experiencing a bump doesn’t mean the relationship is doomed. Rather, you and your potential partner will have to develop the communication skills to overcome these challenges when they arise.
Feeling nervous and vulnerable in romantic relationships is normal, especially in new ones. However, overcoming insecurity in your personal life can lead to the healthiest, most open, and honest relationships that can be incredibly rewarding.
Working with a partner, being honest about personal challenges, and considering pursuing couples therapy together to develop communication can all be part of your journey to overcoming insecurity in your relationship.
What Are the 5 Ways to Boost Your Confidence?
5 ways to boost your confidence in daily life can include:
- Setting realistic expectations of yourself
- Incorporating self-love and positive self-talk into daily routines
- Practicing regular self-care
- Using positive affirmations
- Taking time to acknowledge achievements
Acknowledging personal achievements can be difficult if you are insecure, especially when combined with perfectionist tendencies that may make it difficult for you to see a job well done. Working to accept compliments can help this.
Using a journal to record personal accomplishments at the same rate as perceived shortcomings can also add necessary context to challenge negative self-talk and improve self-confidence.
It is normal for a person to dwell on perceived failures. However, working to ensure that these ideas do not overshadow accomplishments and triumphs is part of challenging insecurity.
How to Stop Being Insecure on My Own?
Practicing positive self-talk, engaging in effective self-care, becoming your own cheerleader, and avoiding social media can all help you overcome insecurity.
However, it can be difficult to practice these things independently. It is normal to be unsure how to start overcoming insecurity on your own. This is why there is no true replacement for working with an educated professional when identifying the root cause of insecurity in your life.
Working with professionals to overcome insecurity may be necessary. But you will still have to practice the skills at home on your own to truly embrace self-confidence and overcome insecurity.
Does Therapy Help With Insecurities?
Yes! Therapy is a great way to identify feelings of insecurity and their effects on your daily life, behaviors, and mental health.
Therapy also helps you develop the most personalized approach to challenging feelings related to insecurity for a healthier daily life.
Working with a professional to explore new therapeutic practices to improve self-confidence can be necessary. Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), group therapy, and couples treatment are common forms of therapy to overcome insecurities.
It is normal for many of these practices to feel uncomfortable at first. Having the support of educated professionals in therapy can help you overcome these barriers and embrace genuine healing as you replace insecurities with newfound confidence.
How Do I Know I Am No Longer Insecure?
Recognizing that you are no longer insecure is a powerful, amazing feeling.
For many, it manifests as feeling comfortable in your skin, taking pride in accomplishments, and being able to make important decisions without second-guessing yourself too much.
If a decision leads to stress, you can overcome this stress and make a new decision to rectify the problem rather than overthink things that have not yet happened.
Feeling confident in social situations, from the way you talk to the way you dress or express yourself, is another sign that you are overcoming your insecurities and embracing a healthy daily life.
Lastly, being able to advocate for your own needs is another sign that you have overcome insecurity. Knowing your needs, setting goals, and planning to accomplish these goals are powerful things. Advocating for your needs is a necessary part of this that can be lost when insecure.
