We can all question ourselves sometimes—did I do okay on that work presentation? Was I friendly enough to my friend’s mom? That’s all normal.
However, there are certain traits that may repeatedly show up in people who are insecure. And sometimes, it’s downright obvious.
Below are some of the behaviors that scream “I’m insecure,” according to a recent Reddit thread.
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Humble Bragging
“My coworker does this about a million times a day. I know the square footage of her house, the price of the car she drives, how much money she makes from her side business, etc. The worst part is when she puts down the salary we both make and says that’s not even half of what she earns from her side business and how it’s not a living wage and stuff. I’m always like ‘girl why are you here then?’”
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Automatically Assuming Negative Intent
“Had a friend who, while I took a nap, texted me, “’I noticed you didn’t share your chocolate bar with me at lunch. Are you mad at me? Are we even friend anymore?’ 2 hours later, ‘I guess I have my answer.’”
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Putting Yourself Down on Purpose
“This is a self roast but I think I degrade myself just to hear others deny it, is that insecure?“
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Dominating Conversations
“I know a guy who will talk forever, on and on about something that may or may not be interesting to anyone but him in the first place. If anyone has something else to say that leads to a small tangent or participation of other people in the room he becomes visibly annoyed and will bring it back with an ‘ANYWAY’ at the earliest opportunity and continue ranting. I don’t like him.”
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Tracking Their SO’s Location On an App
“It’s one thing to have it and use it in case of emergency, but using it while out with your friends to make sure he’s actually at work is creepy and super insecure.”
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Lying About Something to Seem Cool
“It’s very obviously a signal of insecurity because they don’t like who they are now.”
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Fishing For Compliments
“Constant fishing for compliments when around people (e.g., ‘I’m so chunky’ as a direct way to get someone to tell you that you look great).”
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Doubting Yourself
“When you question yourself ‘do they actually like me or are they pretending to?’ or when you think you’re gonna bother other people if you talk to them.”
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Trying to Win a Nonexistent Competition
“Constantly lifting yourself up and comparing yourself to others, while pushing them down.”
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Bragging About Things Not in Your Control
“I have a friend who likes to brag to girls at the bar about how successful our other friend is because his parents have a successful business that he is taking over. Super cringy.”
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Using Internal Fear as An Excuse to Not Do Something
“Hate your job? You don’t apply for any others because you’re scared of being rejected, or that you don’t deserve a better job. In a terrible relationship? You stay because you’re scared of being alone. That kind of insecurity is the worst imo because it affects nearly everyone.”
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Living Your Life Through Social Media
“All those people who post on Facebook those quotes that are like: ‘don’t worry about those who talk behind your back, they’re behind you for a reason.’ Or they tag themselves into any and EVERY place including the docs/hospital/somewhere personal. Then when someone asks if they’re ok they reply with: ‘don’t ask hun xoxox’”
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Bullying
“You don’t try to bring other people down if you truly feel good about yourself.”
What behavior do you think shows someone’s insecurity?