According to Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, our need for survival comes first. We need to eat, we need shelter, and we need stay alive. After our physical needs are met, the next level is to meet our social needs. We need to feel safe, we need to feel like we belong, that we are respected, and we need to have a purpose, meaning, so that we feel we matter. The top need that Maslow has identified, is the need for self-actualization, the need to grow, to realize our full potential.

Stress is generated when we feel threatened. If, we don’t feel safe, we start reacting by fighting, flighting, or freezing. When we feel we don’t belong, we can feel stressed. When we feel we don’t matter, we feel stressed, and when we feel disrespected or ignored we can feel stressed. When we feel we are stuck, or plateaued, that we are not growing or learning, we can feel stressed. When our core needs are not met, these are the root causes of stress reactions.

To address the root causes of stress begins by devising more effective strategies to get our core needs met. We need to meet our core needs to feel safe, feel we belong, feel we matter and are respected and we need to feel we are learning, growing and actualizing our full potential.

In essence, we need to actualize our potential to be confident that we are a unique contributing person.