Why Do We Have the Feeling That We Are Not Enough? (NAMI June Blog)

Hilary Jacobs Hendel 6/23/185:32 AM

Mike believed he had a good life and felt lucky for all the things he had. He was married to a loving wife, had a good job, owned a nice house and had three healthy kids.

Despite all his good fortune, Mike could not shake the nagging feeling that he wasn’t enough: "I should be more successful. I should make more money. I should be where my boss is. I should have a graduate degree. I should have a bigger house. I should have more friends." These were some of the “shoulds” that plagued him daily.

“Could I get you curious about this part of you that feels inadequate?” I asked Mike during our first meeting. “Let yourself travel back in time. How old were you when you first felt ‘not enough?’”

He paused to reflect. “It’s definitely been with me a long time,” he said. “Maybe six or eight years old?”

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Laura Haynes CollectorMember

Whether we feel we are enough or not is a right brain notion that has little to do with current reality and a lot to do with the reality of our preschool lives. When we are good enough to the adults in our lives, we absorb this notion. Or not.

6/25/188:47 AM

Dylan MendersMember

Great article! It's true that the more people have and achieve, the more they want. The question is to find this golden mean and stop your "self" before you hurt your family.

6/24/1811:42 PM

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