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====Emotional Needs====
====Emotional Needs====
Emotional needs include our “love and belonging needs.This includes our need for love, support, acceptance, and inclusion in family, friend groups, and in society. We all need to feel we are wanted, belong, and connected to something. We all need to feel ''attached'' to a solid family (ideally) or a supportive group of friends (second best). As with physiological needs, meeting environmental needs helps the body grow up healthy and strong. Failing to meet these needs stunts growth and damages the body and mind.
Emotional needs include our “love and belonging needs, our need for support, acceptance, connection, and inclusion in family and friend groupings. These needs are  particular important need, evolutionarily speaking, since humans have always needed to be in groups to survive and thrive.


These needs are met by parents, number one, by teachers and peer groups, number two.
Sufficient satisfaction of emotional needs leads to, among other things,


Humans are biologically wired, for survival reasons, to need to be a part of families, to need to be part of groups. This is not only because children remain dependent on adults for at least three decades, but also because it is impossible for a person on their own to survive “out in the woods.” Even a sole-survivor type of guy still needs things like shovels, guns, bullets, axes, and so on, and these can only be produced with the help of a society of some sort.
# Improved Mental Health: Satisfying emotional needs can contribute to better overall mental health. Feelings of acceptance, belonging, and love can reduce the risk of mental health disorders such as depression and anxiety.<ref>Sarah Stewart-Brown, "Emotional wellbeing and its relation to health: Physical disease may well result from emotional distress," ''BMJ'' 317, no. 7173 (1998): 1608-1609. 10.1136/bmj.317.7173.1608</ref>
 
# Enhanced Self-Esteem and Confidence: Emotional support and acceptance can reinforce an individual's self-worth, thus promoting higher self-esteem and confidence.<ref>Roy F. Baumeister, Jennifer D. Campbell, Joachim I. Krueger, and Kathleen D. Vohs, "Does High Self-Esteem Cause Better Performance, Interpersonal Success, Happiness, or Healthier Lifestyles?" ''Psychological Science in the Public Interest'' 4, no. 1 (2003): 1-44. 10.1111/1529-1006.01431</ref>
When unmet, the need for love, positive regard, and attention can become desperation. Individuals with unmet emotional needs can "go through life craving and seeking satisfaction" of these needs."<ref>Grof, Stanislav. ''When the Impossible Happens.'' Boulder, CO: Sounds True, 2006.</ref> This craving, which is often completely unconscious, can be exploited by disreputable or mentally ill actors. See for example Layton who cites Jim Jones attention and manipulative praise as psychological reasons for her toxic attachment to the Jonestown cult. <ref>Layton, Deborah. Seductive Poison. New York: Anchor Books, 2010. https://amzn.to/2wxOse4.</ref>
# Greater Life Satisfaction: Meeting emotional needs can increase life satisfaction and overall happiness. Positive interpersonal relationships and a sense of belonging contribute significantly to these outcomes.<ref>Sonja Lyubomirsky, Laura King, and Ed Diener, "The benefits of frequent positive affect: Does happiness lead to success?" ''Psychological Bulletin'' 131, no. 6 (2005): 803-855. 10.1037/0033-2909.131.6.803</ref>
# Stress Reduction: Emotional support can provide a buffer against stress. When emotional needs are met, individuals are more likely to effectively manage and recover from stressful situations.<ref>heldon Cohen and Thomas A. Wills, "Stress, social support, and the buffering hypothesis," ''Psychological Bulletin'' 98, no. 2 (1985): 310-357. 10.1037/0033-2909.98.2.310</ref>
# Better Physical Health: Research has shown a connection between emotional wellbeing and physical health. Individuals with strong emotional support networks tend to have better immune function and lower risk of physical illness.<ref>Sarah Stewart-Brown, "Emotional wellbeing and its relation to health: Physical disease may well result from emotional distress," ''BMJ'' 317, no. 7173 (1998): 1608-1609.10.1136/bmj.317.7173.1608</ref>
# Enhanced Cognitive Function: Emotional wellbeing can also benefit cognitive abilities, including memory and attention. Feeling emotionally secure can enable better focus on cognitive tasks.<ref>Stacey Wood, Eryn Brown, "Insightful problem solving and emotion: A selective review," ''The Journal of Creative Behavior'' 45, no. 3 (2011): 204-220.</ref>


====Cognitive Needs====  
====Cognitive Needs====  
Line 133: Line 136:
# '''Emotional Impairments''': Long-term deprivation of physiological needs can lead to emotional stress, anxiety, and depression, primarily due to feelings of vulnerability and an incessant state of fear and anxiety over meeting basic needs.<ref>Mary C. Sutter, "Fear, Anxiety and Worry," ''Psychiatry'' 3, no. 2 (2004): 45-48.</ref> Chronic stress and anxiety can in turn lead to additional mental health impairments.<ref>Mark L. Hatzenbuehler, "How Does Sexual Minority Stigma "Get Under the Skin"? A Psychological Mediation Framework," ''Psychological Bulletin'' 135, no. 5 (2009): 707. 10.1037/a0016441</ref>
# '''Emotional Impairments''': Long-term deprivation of physiological needs can lead to emotional stress, anxiety, and depression, primarily due to feelings of vulnerability and an incessant state of fear and anxiety over meeting basic needs.<ref>Mary C. Sutter, "Fear, Anxiety and Worry," ''Psychiatry'' 3, no. 2 (2004): 45-48.</ref> Chronic stress and anxiety can in turn lead to additional mental health impairments.<ref>Mark L. Hatzenbuehler, "How Does Sexual Minority Stigma "Get Under the Skin"? A Psychological Mediation Framework," ''Psychological Bulletin'' 135, no. 5 (2009): 707. 10.1037/a0016441</ref>
# '''Cognitive Impairments''': Chronic malnutrition, particularly during the "brain growth spurt,"  can impact cognitive development and function, causing deficits in memory, attention, and cognitive flexibility.<ref>Lynne Georgiadis, Alan Jackson, and Lucy Eaton, "Undernutrition and Cognitive Function in School-Aged Children: A Systematic Review," ''BMJ Open'' 10, no. 5 (2020): e035378. 10.1136/bmjopen-2019-035378</ref> Lack of sleep can significantly affect cognitive functions such as attention, memory, decision-making and problem-solving abilities.<ref>Hans P.A. Van Dongen, Greg Maislin, Janet M. Mullington, and David F. Dinges, "The Cumulative Cost of Additional Wakefulness: Dose-Response Effects on Neurobehavioral Functions and Sleep Physiology From Chronic Sleep Restriction and Total Sleep Deprivation," ''Sleep'' 26, no. 2 (2003): 117-26. </ref> Finally, the constant worry about meeting basic needs can distract from cognitive tasks, reducing productivity and learning capacity.<ref>Rachel T. Kimbro, Jeanne Brooks-Gunn, and Sara McLanahan, "Young Children in Urban Areas: Links Among Neighborhood Characteristics, Weight Status, Outdoor Play, and Television-Watching," ''Social Science & Medicine'' 72, no. 5 (2011): 668-76.</ref>   
# '''Cognitive Impairments''': Chronic malnutrition, particularly during the "brain growth spurt,"  can impact cognitive development and function, causing deficits in memory, attention, and cognitive flexibility.<ref>Lynne Georgiadis, Alan Jackson, and Lucy Eaton, "Undernutrition and Cognitive Function in School-Aged Children: A Systematic Review," ''BMJ Open'' 10, no. 5 (2020): e035378. 10.1136/bmjopen-2019-035378</ref> Lack of sleep can significantly affect cognitive functions such as attention, memory, decision-making and problem-solving abilities.<ref>Hans P.A. Van Dongen, Greg Maislin, Janet M. Mullington, and David F. Dinges, "The Cumulative Cost of Additional Wakefulness: Dose-Response Effects on Neurobehavioral Functions and Sleep Physiology From Chronic Sleep Restriction and Total Sleep Deprivation," ''Sleep'' 26, no. 2 (2003): 117-26. </ref> Finally, the constant worry about meeting basic needs can distract from cognitive tasks, reducing productivity and learning capacity.<ref>Rachel T. Kimbro, Jeanne Brooks-Gunn, and Sara McLanahan, "Young Children in Urban Areas: Links Among Neighborhood Characteristics, Weight Status, Outdoor Play, and Television-Watching," ''Social Science & Medicine'' 72, no. 5 (2011): 668-76.</ref>   
==== Neglect of Emotional Needs ====
When unmet, the need for love, positive regard, and attention can become desperation. Individuals with unmet emotional needs can "go through life craving and seeking satisfaction" of these needs."<ref>Grof, Stanislav. ''When the Impossible Happens.'' Boulder, CO: Sounds True, 2006.</ref> This craving, which is often completely unconscious, can be exploited by disreputable or mentally ill actors. See for example Layton who cites Jim Jones attention and manipulative praise as psychological reasons for her toxic attachment to the Jonestown cult. <ref>Layton, Deborah. Seductive Poison. New York: Anchor Books, 2010. https://amzn.to/2wxOse4.</ref>


==== Neglect of Psychological Needs ====
==== Neglect of Psychological Needs ====

Revision as of 15:32, 4 Haziran 2023

The Seven Essential Needs are the seven needs the physical body and mind (i.e. Physical Unit) is required to meet in order to grow, develop, and finally achieve and maintain strong Connection.[1] [2] The Seven Essential Needs are broken down into two general categories, basic needs and inner needs.The basic needs include the physiological, cognitive, environmental, emotional, and psychological needs of the body. The inner needs include the need for Alignment and the need for Connection.

Seven Essential Needs

Syncretic Terms

Seven Essential Needs > Cognitive Interests

Related LP Terms

Seven Essential Needs > Active Need Fulfillment, Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) Study, D-Cognition, D-Realm, Deficiency Diseases, Essential Needs, Good Science, Good Specimen, Health, Hierarchy of Basic Needs, Hierarchy of Cognitive Needs, Human Development, Human Development Framework, Needs, Normative Biology, Polyvagal Theory, Psychological Framework, School of Human Development, Seven Toxic Needs, Transhumanistic, Violence

Non-LP Related Terms

Seven Essential Needs > 5Ds of Toxic Existence, Attachments, Basic Needs, Dependent Need Fulfillment, Essential Needs Rule Set, Five Key Areas of Human Development, Healing Space, Inner Needs, Needs Algorithm, Physical Unit, Realistic Empowerment, Sufficient Satisfaction, The Work, Toxic Socialization

Video Discussion

Notes

The Seven Essential Needs are broken down into two general categories, basic needs and inner needs.

The Basic Needs

Basic needs are met, obviously, by providing the necessary environmental conditions, nutrients, and "nutriments," [3] like autonomy, competence, and relatedness. Environments which provide for these create conditions conducive to the satisfaction of basic needs while environments that lack these, or that undermine there provision, create environments hostile to basic needs satisfaction. Environments here include those at the familial, social, community, national, and international level. Factors in the environment that impact would include quality of relationships, social organization (whether it is hierarchical or egalitarian, supportive or coercive), norms and values, economic practices, and so on.

Physiological Needs

Physiological needs include the need for healthy food, water, vitamins, and air, the need for physical exercise, the need for clothing, the need for sleep, and so on. Physiological needs also include the absence of physical pain. Meeting physiological needs keeps the body and mind healthy and growing. Failing to do so stunts growth and undermines the body's ability to develop, stay healthy and strong.

Adam Smith said an interesting thing about the deprivation of physiological needs, particularly in relation to poverty.[4]

Emotional Needs

Emotional needs include our “love and belonging needs,” our need for support, acceptance, connection, and inclusion in family and friend groupings. These needs are particular important need, evolutionarily speaking, since humans have always needed to be in groups to survive and thrive.

Sufficient satisfaction of emotional needs leads to, among other things,

  1. Improved Mental Health: Satisfying emotional needs can contribute to better overall mental health. Feelings of acceptance, belonging, and love can reduce the risk of mental health disorders such as depression and anxiety.[5]
  2. Enhanced Self-Esteem and Confidence: Emotional support and acceptance can reinforce an individual's self-worth, thus promoting higher self-esteem and confidence.[6]
  3. Greater Life Satisfaction: Meeting emotional needs can increase life satisfaction and overall happiness. Positive interpersonal relationships and a sense of belonging contribute significantly to these outcomes.[7]
  4. Stress Reduction: Emotional support can provide a buffer against stress. When emotional needs are met, individuals are more likely to effectively manage and recover from stressful situations.[8]
  5. Better Physical Health: Research has shown a connection between emotional wellbeing and physical health. Individuals with strong emotional support networks tend to have better immune function and lower risk of physical illness.[9]
  6. Enhanced Cognitive Function: Emotional wellbeing can also benefit cognitive abilities, including memory and attention. Feeling emotionally secure can enable better focus on cognitive tasks.[10]

Cognitive Needs

We all have powerful needs to know and understand the world. We all have a need to experience truth and to be in touch with reality. We all have a biological drive to know and understand the world.[11] [12]

Cognitive Needs — The final category of basic needs is our cognitive needs. Our cognitive needs are our biologically and spiritually rooted need to know and understand the world. Basically, our powerful need for truth.[fn] As psychologist Abraham Maslow said, "the most important characteristics of psychological health was simply the ability to perceive clearly—that is, to see the truth, to penetrate falsehood, phoniness, hypocrisy, and so on." In other words, the need to be in touch with reality. Abraham Maslow, “Eupsychia—The Good Society,” Journal of Humanistic Psychology 1, no. 2 (1961): 3.[/fn] The cognitive needs are self-evident in children where they are expressed at a very early age in the incessant questioning of young children. “Mommy, why is the sky blue?” “Why is daddy angry all the time?”

Just like all your other basic needs, your truth needs are biologically rooted needs important for individual and collective survival, growth, and connection. An organism that does not know and understand its environment, an organism that does not pay attention and seek out the truth of things, is an organism not long for this world.

This truth is self-evident and expressed at a very early age. “Mommy, why is the sky blue?” “Daddy, why are you angry all the time?”

Unlike your other needs, which are derived from the requirements of your [wiki]Physical Unit[/wiki], the cognitive needs also derive from spiritual imperatives fundamental to Consciousness. As explained in the advanced course LP 380 - LP Cosmology I, Consciousness is nothing if not pure awareness of truth and complete understanding of nature; so, it is not surprising that your body has a need to follow, find out, and understand the truth of all things.

Psychological Needs

In addition to physiological, environmental, and emotional needs, we also have basic psychological needs. Our psychological needs include our need for positive self-esteem and sense of self, our need to feel powerful and competent,[13] our need to feel good about and to have faith in ourselves,[14] and our need for autonomy and freedom,[15] We need to feel we are a good person that is worthy of love and acceptance. We also need to feel competent and powerful, like we can accomplish the things we want to accomplish in life.[16][17][18][19]

Satisfaction of these needs has been linked to well-being,[20] competence, vitality,[21] and enhanced creativity. Satisfaction of these leads also support Alignment and Connection, which together allow for the full expression of the Spiritual Ego.

Ryan and Deci note that “The Fullest representations of humanity show people to be curious, vital, and self-motivated. At their best, they are agentic and inspired, striving to learn; extend themselves; master new skills; and apply their talents responsibly. That most people show considerable effort, agency, and commitment in their lives appears, in fact, to be more normative than exceptional, suggesting some very positive and persistent features of human nature.”[22] In other words, left to their own devices, people are naturally motivated to develop skills and mastery, to strive for autonomy and competence. This drive is part of an individual’s “inherent growth tendencies and innate psychological needs.”

Environmental Needs

Environmental needs include our need for safe, secure, nurturing, stable, and aesthetically pleasing environments. This includes a need for a safe spaces where we can rest, develop, and grow, secure finances, consistency, and stability. Note that safety includes the absence of violence of any kind, including physical violence (e.g., spanking), emotional violence (name-calling, shaming), and psychological violence (verbal aggression, intimidation, condescension, passive-aggressive attacks, etc). Stability includes the emotional consistency of stable and nurturing parental relationships, as well as financial stability sufficient enough to remove the anxieties and uncertainties of basic survival. As with physiological needs, meeting environmental needs helps the body grow up healthy and strong. Failing to meet these needs stunts growth and damages the body and mind.

Safe home, safe spaces, secure finances, consistency, and stability. Safety includes the absence of assault of any kind, including physical assault (e.g., spanking), emotional assault, and psychological assault. Stability includes the emotional consistency of stable parental relationships. Financial stability includes resources sufficient to remove the anxieties and uncertainties of survival. The negative consequence of a failure to provide safe environments is long-term disability.

The consequences of a failure to provide safe environments is cumulative psychological, emotional, physical, and spiritual damage. For example, Swami Vivekananda notes "The older we grow, the longer we are knocked about in the world, the more callous we become."[23]

See the article "Toxic Socialization" [24] which provides a run down of all the consequences that accrue as a consequence of violence, which is something that occurs in evironments that are not safe.

Inner Needs

Alignment

express and unfold [13]

We all have a need to express[25] and unfold. Aristotle, Carl Rogers, and others capture these needs with the concept Eudaimonia which is the expression of human excellence and virtue (read Alignment),the doing of what is worth doing.[26]

Moving to the inner needs now, our alignment need is essentially our need to be “synced-up” with our spiritual ego, to be in alignment with our spiritual ego,. To express and actualize who we truly are deep inside. It can be a little challenging to wrap your head around this, and we talk about it in much greater detail later. For now, just imagine your Spiritual Ego for what it is, a very bright, powerful, kind, compassionate, loving, and aware spiritual being. To be in alignment means that your bodily ego thinks, acts, and feels with the same power, kindness, compassion, love, and awareness that characterizes your spiritual ego. If you are not acting like that, you are not acting in alignment with your spiritual ego.

If you want to know what alignment looks like, think Jesus Christ, the Buddha, and, for all his patriarchal and elitist imperfections, Ghandi or Mother Theresa. Though they may not have been perfect, these individuals strove to meet their need for alignment between the spiritual ego and bodily ego by expressing power, kindness, compassion, love, and awareness.

For your information, Maslow has some thoughts on this inner need for alignment in his article “How we Diminish Ourselves," and how this need to align with our "deepest nature" finds a way to push through even when we actively resist. <ref>Abraham H. Maslow, “How We Diminish Ourselves,” The Journal of Humanistic Education and Development 29, no. 3 (March 1, 1991): 117–20.</ref>

Alignment needs are your needs to be in alignment/agreement with your own ethics, values, and purpose.  In LP terms, this means being in alignment with your Spiritual Ego.

in Humanistic psychology, self-actualization.[27] Presuming the existence of a “soul,” or a spark of Consciousness that exists independent of the physical body, we need to align our bodily ego, our body’s self or Bodily Ego, with this higher level our Self, our Spiritual Ego.

Connection

Connection needs are your needs to be connected, to your family, to your friends, to your work place, and to your own higher self.

  1. Our biological programmed Need for Connection with family, Spirit, Highest Self, place (land), the ancestors,[28] Pachamama,[29]and God.
    • It is not enough to actualize our highest self, we need to go beyond and actually make a strong connection with this inner Self.
    • This is a common desideratum of human spiritual systems. In Transpersonal Psychology, transcendence; in Christianity, Islamic, salvation; in Buddhism, enlightenment; etc.) In Transpersonal Psychology, this is known as transcendence; in Christianity and Islamic traditions, this is known as salvation, “Entering the Kingdom,” etc. in Buddhism and Easter traditions, enlightenment). In Sociology, this notion is expressed in a Christian form in Troelstech’s conception of mysticism as the “perfection of the spiritual life” and “unity with the divine” (Steeman, 1975). Evelyn Underhill points directly to this need when she says that we have an “innate tendency...towards complete harmony with the transcendental order, whatever the theological formula under which that order is understood” (Underhill, 2002). Jung referred to this as the experience of the numinosum (Jung, 1938, p. 6).

In Vedanta, this is the highest need, the most " outstanding urge in people is the search after the abiding spirit or God. There is an inherent desire in every man to experience the abiding spirit, and until he reaches that goal there is no hope for real peace of mind."[30] Satisfaction of one's essential needs leads to wellbeing, physical, mental, and emotional health, creativity, and Eudaimonia.[31]

Need for Connection with Spiritual Ego

Our final need, our core essential need, is a deep and abiding need for connection between your bodily ego and spiritual ego. As always, this essential need for connection is biologically programmed by evolutionary processes for several reasons, most important of which, as outlined in Lightning Rod on the Positive Outcomes of Connection, is that being connected makes you smarter, more capable, healthier, happier, and more adaptable than you would be without connection, thereby increasing your chances of surviving and living a happy and fulfilling life. Basically, the spiritual ego is a better, more powerful, more capable version of your body ego. If you want the most out of life, you definitely want to connect the two.

In the literature

George Simmel speaks of " religiousness as an inner state or need of man..."[32]

Underhill says "Broadly speaking, I understand it to be the expression of the innate tendency of the human spirit towards complete harmony with the transcendental order; whatever be the theological formula under which that order is understood."[33]

Einstein says... "There is a mystical drive in man to learn about his own existence...the dignity of man depends not on his membership in a church, but on his scrutinizing mind, his confidence in his intellect, his figuring things out for himself, and above all his respect for the laws of creation" (Hermanns, 1983: np)

Grof says "spiritual search [i.e., search for connection] appears to be an understandable and legitimate human activity." [34] Further, "The deepest motivating force in the human psyche on all the levels of our development is the craving to return to the experience of our divinity"[35]

The satisfaction of the seventh essential need - connection. "Only the experience of one's divinity in a non-ordinary state of consciousness can ever fulfill our deepest needs"[36]

Grof also notes that "Full satisfaction comes ultimately from the experience of...our own divinity, not the pursuit of material goals of any scope or kind [37].

"It is now becoming increasingly evident that a craving for transcendence and a need for inner development are basic and normal aspects of human nature." (alignment and connection) [38]

Huxley (PP) notes that Totalitarian regimes exploit humanity's need for "unity" (read Connection) by "by means of a philosophy of political monism, according to which the state is God on earth, unification under the heel of the divine state is salvation, and all means to such unification, however intrinsically wicked, are right and may be used without scruple."

St. Teresa of Avila notes speaks of a need for actualization and connection suggesting that is "quenches thirst." "Oh, my Lord, if only one could be plunged so deeply into this living water that one’s life would end! Can that be? Yes: 34 this love and desire for God35 can increase so much that human nature is unable to bear it, and so there have been persons who have died of it."[39]

Sri Swami Sivananda notes that religion (I would say Authentic Religion) a "deep inward craving" (i.e., a need for connection)[40]

Swami Vivekananda speaks of the critical importance of meeting people's needs. Though he did not use that name, intimations of a hierarchy of needs was first proposed by Swami Vivekananda in "The Secret Work" in his book Karma Yoga. [41]

Essential needs are equivalent to "basic needs" in that they represent "an energizing state that, if satisfied, conduces toward health and well-being but, if not satisfied, contributes to pathology and ill-being." [42]

What Happens when Needs are Neglected or Thwarted

Neglect of Physiological Needs

A failure to meet physiological needs leads to a host of sequelae, including

  1. Physiological Impairments: Long-term deprivation of physiological needs can lead to various health issues. Lack of proper nutrition can cause malnutrition which in turn leads to structural changes and reduced brain volume,[43] a weakened immune system, and increased susceptibility to diseases.[44] Sleep deprivation can increase the risk of conditions such as heart disease, diabetes, obesity, and other chronic health problems.[45] The absence of physical exercise can lead to obesity, heart diseases, and a decreased life expectancy.[46] Constant physical pain can deteriorate overall health and quality of life.[47] Note that physiological deprivations experienced by the mother have negative consequences for the fetus.
  2. Emotional Impairments: Long-term deprivation of physiological needs can lead to emotional stress, anxiety, and depression, primarily due to feelings of vulnerability and an incessant state of fear and anxiety over meeting basic needs.[48] Chronic stress and anxiety can in turn lead to additional mental health impairments.[49]
  3. Cognitive Impairments: Chronic malnutrition, particularly during the "brain growth spurt," can impact cognitive development and function, causing deficits in memory, attention, and cognitive flexibility.[50] Lack of sleep can significantly affect cognitive functions such as attention, memory, decision-making and problem-solving abilities.[51] Finally, the constant worry about meeting basic needs can distract from cognitive tasks, reducing productivity and learning capacity.[52]

Neglect of Emotional Needs

When unmet, the need for love, positive regard, and attention can become desperation. Individuals with unmet emotional needs can "go through life craving and seeking satisfaction" of these needs."[53] This craving, which is often completely unconscious, can be exploited by disreputable or mentally ill actors. See for example Layton who cites Jim Jones attention and manipulative praise as psychological reasons for her toxic attachment to the Jonestown cult. [54]

Neglect of Psychological Needs

A failure to meet psychological needs can result in various physiological, emotional, cognitive impairments which, together, can result in series ego impairments.

  1. Emotional Impairments
    1. Depression and Anxiety Disorders: These often occur when individuals are unable to meet their needs for self-esteem and competence. Feeling unworthy, incompetent, or unloved can lead to a persistent feeling of sadness, hopelessness, or excessive worry. Both depression and anxiety disorders are known to have a strong association with low self-esteem and self-worth.[55]
  2. Cognitive Impairments
  3. Egoic/Personality Impairments.
    1. Personality Disorders: Particularly, narcissistic personality disorder (NPD) may arise from an inflated sense of self-worth and a desperate need for validation, while borderline personality disorder (BPD) might occur when an individual feels chronically invalidated and struggles with self-image and fear of abandonment.[56][57]
    2. Eating Disorders: Unmet needs for self-esteem and competence can contribute to the development of eating disorders such as anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa. These disorders often stem from a distorted body image and an extreme desire for control.[58]
    3. Substance Use Disorders: These disorders may occur when individuals use substances as a coping mechanism to deal with feelings of low self-esteem, powerlessness, or lack of freedom. Substance use disorders are closely linked to poor mental health and unmet psychological needs.[59]

Related LP Content and Courses

Footnotes

  1. Sosteric and Ratkovic. “Seven Essential Needs,” 2018. https://www.academia.edu/38114100/The_Seven_Essential_Needs.
  2. Also see Ratkovic, Gina and Sosteric, MIke. “It Takes a Village: Advancing Attachment Theory and Recovering the Roots of Human Health with the Seven Essential Needs.” Aotearoa New Zealand Social Work, 2022. https://www.academia.edu/61410417
  3. Ryan, Richard M., and Edward L. Deci. “The Darker and Brighter Sides of Human Existence: Basic Psychological Needs as a Unifying Concept.” Psychological Inquiry 11, no. 4 (October 1, 2000): 319–38. https://doi.org/10.1207/S15327965PLI1104_03</ref>
  4. "But poverty, though it does not prevent the generation, is extremely unfavourable to the rearing of children. The tender plant is produced, but in so cold a soil and so severe a climate, soon withers and dies. " Smith, Adam. The Wealth of Nations - An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations. Bantam Classics, 2003.
  5. Sarah Stewart-Brown, "Emotional wellbeing and its relation to health: Physical disease may well result from emotional distress," BMJ 317, no. 7173 (1998): 1608-1609. 10.1136/bmj.317.7173.1608
  6. Roy F. Baumeister, Jennifer D. Campbell, Joachim I. Krueger, and Kathleen D. Vohs, "Does High Self-Esteem Cause Better Performance, Interpersonal Success, Happiness, or Healthier Lifestyles?" Psychological Science in the Public Interest 4, no. 1 (2003): 1-44. 10.1111/1529-1006.01431
  7. Sonja Lyubomirsky, Laura King, and Ed Diener, "The benefits of frequent positive affect: Does happiness lead to success?" Psychological Bulletin 131, no. 6 (2005): 803-855. 10.1037/0033-2909.131.6.803
  8. heldon Cohen and Thomas A. Wills, "Stress, social support, and the buffering hypothesis," Psychological Bulletin 98, no. 2 (1985): 310-357. 10.1037/0033-2909.98.2.310
  9. Sarah Stewart-Brown, "Emotional wellbeing and its relation to health: Physical disease may well result from emotional distress," BMJ 317, no. 7173 (1998): 1608-1609.10.1136/bmj.317.7173.1608
  10. Stacey Wood, Eryn Brown, "Insightful problem solving and emotion: A selective review," The Journal of Creative Behavior 45, no. 3 (2011): 204-220.
  11. "the most important characteristics of psychological health was simply the ability to perceive clearly-that is, to see the truth, to penetrate falsehood, phoniness, hypocrisy, and so on." Maslow, Abraham. “Eupsychia—The Good Society.” Journal of Humanistic Psychology 1, no. 2 (1961): p. 3.
  12. Habermas's provides a similar conception for cognitive needs in Cognitive Interests Scott, John P. “Critical Social Theory: An Introduction and Critique.” The British Journal of Sociology 29, no. 1 (1978): 1. https://doi.org/10.2307/589216. p. 2
  13. 13.0 13.1 Ryan, R. M., and E. L. Deci. “Self-Determination Theory and the Facilitation of Intrinsic Motivation, Social Development, and Well-Being.” American Psychologist, 2000.
  14. Akhilananda, Swami. Hindu Psychology: Its Meaning in the West. Routledge, 1948. p. 80
  15. Edward L Deci and Richard M Ryan, Intrinsic Motivation and Self-Determination in Human Behaviour (New York: Springer Science, 1985).
  16. A Bandura, “Human Agency in Social-Cognition Theory,” American Psychologist 44 (1989): 1175–84
  17. A. H. Maslow, Towards a Psychology of Being (2nd Edition) (New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold Company, 1968)
  18. Carl Rogers, Freedom to Learn (Columbus, Ohio: Merrill, 1969)
  19. C. Rogers, A Way of Being. (Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin, 1980); R White, Ego and Reality in Psychoanalytic Theory, vol. Psychological Issues Series, Monograph No. 11. (New York: International Universities Press, 1963).
  20. Sheldon, K. M., Ryan, R., & Reis, H. T. (1996, January 1). What Makes for a Good Day? Competence and Autonomy in the Day and in the Person. PERSONALITY AND SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY BULLETIN, 22(12), 1270–1279. British Library Document Supply Centre Inside Serials & Conference Proceedings
  21. Sheldon, K. M., Ryan, R., & Reis, H. T. (1996, January 1). What Makes for a Good Day? Competence and Autonomy in the Day and in the Person. PERSONALITY AND SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY BULLETIN, 22(12), 1270–1279. British Library Document Supply Centre Inside Serials & Conference Proceedings
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