Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

Why is self-wellness really so important? What is the goal? Well, there’s this guy named Maslow who made a pyramid ranking the needs of people. At the bottom, are the basic needs of food, shelter, and water. Each step of the pyramid leads one to self-actualization – the ability to be insightful into one’s own actions and understand their own beliefs and coming to terms with their actions and choices in the past. 

 

Sounds amazing doesn’t it? Only a few people that you know are probably in that step. Again, this is because each step has to be met before one can achieve the next one. If we don’t feel safe, we aren’t going to care about our relationships with other or our own self-esteem. We will only be wondering where the next meal is coming from. 

As a therapist, sometimes when crises come up in relation to future safety such as possibly losing a house or financial stress, deeper reaches into feelings and thoughts beyond those related directly to the stress are not able to be addressed. Sometimes it does make for a stall in therapy but those needs are important as well to be addressed and addressed first in order for more progress to be reached. 

Furthermore, if you meet someone and find that they are unable to regulate their emotions or interact with others well, sometimes they may be more concerned about their physical or safety needs than anything more related to the mind and spirit.