Unmet needs psychology

By M.Farouk Radwan, MSc.

Unmet needs psychology

In psychology the term unmet needs refers to the needs that a person didn't manage to satisfy yet.

Just like there are physical needs such as the need to eat or the need to sleep there are psychological needs that people must satisfy in order to feel good.

When people fail to satisfy their important unmet needs they become depressed and when people manage to fulfill their unmet needs they experience true happiness. (see why can't i find happiness)

Unmet needs might also result in unhealthy addictions. Many of the substance abusers and many of those who are addicted to bad habits are just trying to satisfy an important unmet need that they didn't manage to satisfy otherwise. (see How to overcome bad habits)

In this article i will tell you about the psychology of unmet needs.

The psychology of unmet needs of people

Unmet needs are developed as a result of the life experiences we go through. If a child was raised in a family that suffered from financial problems and if the child was ambitious then he will certainly develop the need to become rich. Up until that person becomes rich he will live with his unmet need and as a result:

He will become motivated whenever he finds a way that can make him rich or satisfy his unmet need. (see Motivation and unmet needs)

He will become indifferent if he didn't believe that the tasks he is doing will make him rich.

He will become depressed if he lost his money in the stock market. In my book, The ultimate guide to getting over depression i said that depression is nothing more than an emotion you get when your mind discovers that the road to satisfying your unmet needs was blocked.

As you can see all of your emotions can be perfectly understood in the light of unmet needs. (see How to understand your emotions).

Unmet needs of people and happiness

Many people try to define happiness by talking about it from their own perspective and that's a catastrophic mistake. Happiness can only be understood in the light of the unmet needs of each person on individual basis.

If i suffer from financial insecurity (have an unmet need for becoming rich) then certainly money can make me happy. If another person didn't have this unmet need then money would mean nothing for him.

Psychological unmet needs in relationships

Sometimes a person gets into a relationship just to satisfy his unmet need. If a girl was raised by a distant father then she might develop an unmet need for being taken care of and that's why she might get attracted to the first guy who takes care of her provided that he matches her other criteria.

In my article Love psychology i explained how many relationships fail because they were initially started to satisfy an unmet need and not because people really liked each other.

Psychological unmet needs of substance abusers

Addiction is 99% psychological. If a person has a certain unmet need that he wants to satisfy then he might find himself doing a certain bad habit without realizing that he is doing is to satisfy his unmet need.

For example, many people get addicted to drugs in order to escape from their problems and in order to feel good about themselves. The unmet needs they are suffering from made their life unbearable and that's why they decided to become addicted to escape from their unsatisfied unmet needs. Had they managed to satisfy their unmet needs the wouldn't have needed drugs to feel good.

The book The ultimate guide to getting over depression was released by 2knowmself, the book provides a 100% guarantee for feeling better else you will be refunded. 2knowmysef is not a complicated medical website nor a boring online encyclopedia but rather a place where you will find simple, to the point and effective information that is backed by psychology and presented in a simple way that you can understand and apply. If you think that this is some kind of marketing hype then see what other visitors say about 2knowmyself.

Want to know more?

How to understand your emotional unmet needs

The difference between needing someone and wanting someone

Unmet needs and love

How to get over anyone in few days (book)

How to make anyone fall in love with me fast (book)

How to end Depression instantly (book)

How to control people's minds (Course)

How to develop rock solid self confidence fast (course)

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