Think aloud
We all feel self-conscious at certain points in our life. You start to doubt yourself, thinking that you’re not capable of achieving great things.
But then you remind yourself of your worth and prove to yourself that you can do everything you set your mind to. By increasing your self-confidence, you realize that if you try hard enough, nothing is out of reach.
However, when you’re dating a man who has an inferiority complex, then you’re in for a challenge. No matter how many times you try to remind him of his value, he doesn’t seem to get it.
Not only does he end up suffering from his issues but your relationship also gets affected by them. It all starts to feel like a bit more than you can take.
In order to help a partner who’s suffering from an inferiority complex, you first need to recognize the signs. After that, you can proceed to take the necessary steps to help your man improve his self-image.
1. He often blames others for his mistakes
A man with an inferiority complex will often shift the blame from himself. Even when he makes a mistake, his low self-esteem won’t be able to take it. That’s when he’ll start projecting his own errors onto the people around him.
So, when you’re in a relationship with a man like that, the chances are that you’re going to be responsible for all of the issues you come across.
Even if you have nothing to do with them, your partner will still find a way to accuse you and make them your fault.
Since he has this negative image of himself, he uses this technique to compensate for his feelings. By making you look like the bad guy once in a while, he immediately feels better about himself.
At this point, he doesn’t even realize the damage he’s causing to your relationship.
The only thing that’s on his mind right now is his wish to prove to himself that no one’s perfect, even if it means blaming you for things you haven’t done.
2. He tries to make you feel insecure
Since he feels insecure all the time, a man with an inferiority complex will try to make you feel the same way. He feels the need to lower your self-confidence because that’s his only way of feeling better than you.
When he looks at you and sees a capable, strong, and confident woman, he instantly feels threatened.
He feels like you’re superior to him in every way possible and that’s not something he can tolerate, which is why he’ll often find little ways to shake your confidence.
The more insecure you feel, the more comfortable he’ll be whenever he’s around you. Of course, this behavior is wrong on so many levels and it’s not something you should tolerate.
Your partner needs to find a way to solve his issues and it certainly isn’t okay if he does that by putting you down.
3. He seeks validation from you
Asking your partner for their opinion is one thing but seeking validation for every move you make is wrong and doesn’t do you any good. Unfortunately, a partner who’s suffering from an inferiority complex will often act this way.
He doesn’t feel good about himself so he needs you to give him that validation. He needs you to tell him he’s done something great and to praise him for it.
But since his self-image is so low, he’ll look for your validation for literally everything he does, from taking care of himself to getting promoted.
He needs those words of support since he probably lacked them while growing up. He never feels like he’s doing a good job so, he uses you to help him boost his ego.
4. He’s overly sensitive to criticism
A partner who’s overly sensitive to criticism is probably suffering from an inferiority complex. He already has low self-esteem which prevents him from accepting any judgment.
He’s so used to people complaining about him that he can’t take it anymore. He can’t accept when he’s the one who’s made a mistake.
So, every time you try to point him out that he could’ve done something differently, he’ll feel offended. He’ll act as if you’re sabotaging him and trying to come off as better than him.
Even if your goal is to help him improve, he won’t be able to see it as such. He’ll simply feel like you’re against him and that you want to completely ruin his self-image.
5. He criticizes others all the time
While your partner can’t take it when someone criticizes him, he won’t have an issue with pointing out the flaws of others. He’ll even feel free to do that to you, without caring that you’re his partner.
He won’t choose his words carefully because deep down, he wants others to feel bad about themselves. He wants them to experience the negativity he deals with on a daily basis.
He’ll have no limits and sometimes he’ll opt for hurtful words just so he can feel better than you. And when you ask him to stop, he’ll act like he doesn’t get what you’re talking about.
A man with an inferiority complex doesn’t care whether his words hurt you. He only cares about feeling more powerful than you, since all his life he’s felt like he wasn’t good enough.
Unfortunately, instead of looking for professional help, he finds fault with the people around him, and that way, he boosts his self-image. He thrives when he has the feeling that he’s better than the rest, which is a serious issue.
It’s more than obvious that you won’t ever be able to create a healthy and stable relationship with a person like he is. The more you try to point out his mistakes, the harder he’ll fight to ignore them.
So, the best thing to do would be to ask him to talk to a professional who understands perfectly what he’s going through. An inferiority complex can be overcome but only when you take all of the right steps.
