UNS — Everyone has insecurities. alodokter.com website mentioned that insecurity is feelings of anxiety, inadequacy, and lack of confidence that lead to unsafe feelings. Someone with insecurity will feel jealousy, asking people’s opinions about themselves, and showing off their capabilities. Insecurity often manifests in people 18-25 years old but can also appear in people in other age groups.
Many factors could trigger insecurity, including mental disorders. This condition could lead to depression and experience eating disorders, anxiety, paranoia, and narcissism. A traumatic experience from failure in a relationship, losing loved ones, losing a job, and parental pressure also could trigger anxiety issues. Considering the dangerous impact of insecurities in people’s life, psychologist expert of Faculty of Medical Science (FK) Universitas Sebelas Maret (UNS) Surakarta, Rafika Nur Kusumawati, S.Psi., MA, reminded the community, especially the young generation, to assess themselves.
The identification mentioned by Rafika Nur Kusumawati, S.Psi., MA is the ability to understand when the feeling of anxiety, insecurity, and negative feelings due to insecurity appear in them. After understanding the symptom of insecurity, people could try training to face such conditions. The training must be continuous and increasing in frequency.
“Coping strategy is like finding a key and new home. We might be confused with which key to use, but by trying, we start to understand,” Rafika Nur Kusumawati, S.Psi., MA explained on Friday (9/7/2021).
Another means that could be applied to reduce insecurity is to stop comparing oneself to other people. Rafika Nur Kusumawati, S.Psi., MA suggested people with insecurity compare themselves with something below them to develop an awareness of their abilities, self-confidence, and self-development. “Sometimes we are not confident, do not want to develop or anxious, and scared because we always compare ourselves with something above us. Thus, we do not feel grateful for what Allah gives us,” Rafika Nur Kusumawati, S.Psi., MA., added.
Insecurity Level
To uns.ac.id, Rafika Nur Kusumawati, S.Psi., MA explained the normal level of insecurity experienced by someone. To analyze this level, it needs to pay attention to the stimulus that triggers the insecurities. If the stimulus is a distressing situation such as talking in public or examination, Rafika Nur Kusumawati, S.Psi., MA stated that it is quite normal. “But if the triggers are similar and recurring situations, like uncontrolled bells, it is not normal. Because insecurity makes us have inferiority,” she explained.
Inferiority could appear when someone talks with somebody else and leads to the feeling of being threatened. People who develop this condition also think that others have negative views and perceptions about them. If this condition continues untreated, this condition will affect one’s social relationship with others negatively. “While, it is not other’s words (that makes the person insecure) but the negative perception that makes (us) feel that other people also have negative perception on us,” Rafika Nur Kusumawati, S.Psi., MA., stated.
uns.ac.id also asked Rafika Nur Kusumawati, S.Psi., MA on the relationship between insecurities with Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD). She explained that the person develops the feeling of inadequacy, inferiority, and lack of socialization for six months, it can be considered that the person has developed GAD. However, she reminded that people do not self-diagnose with this anxiety disorder because the only psychologist could officially diagnose someone with GAD.
“GAD needs a diagnosis from a psychologist. We could not self-diagnose using information from the internet and the existing articles,” she added. Humas UNS
Reporter: Yefta Christopherus AS
Editor: Dwi Hastuti