Basic human needs are important to consider when it comes to your mental health. They can, at times, explain why you seek out the things you do, but on a deeper level.
What might seem like a poor reaction, might be a bid for connection, for example.
Most people, when considering human needs (if at all), consider things like physical needs for survival and functioning, such as food and sleep.
Some people may also consider them in the context of human rights.
However, human needs are a really important concept to understand, especially in relation to your mental health and wellbeing.
Human needs go beyond food and sleep and include things like security, connection and autonomy.
Research shows that if your needs are not met as a child or in your experiences as an adult, then it can lead to maladaptive coping mechanisms when you are older. If you dive into some of your current responses, e.g. people pleasing, for some, it may lead back to an unmet need as a child. This is a big area right now.
It is also important to consider that adults have human needs too, and knowing what they are and how to meet them is critical for your mental health and well-being. What tends to happen is the reliance on getting your needs met by others, for example, within a relationship.
To help you on your journey, here is some important information about human needs and why they are important.
What are human needs?
Basic human needs are the things required for survival, at the most basic level.
Maslow’s Hierachy of Needs
Starting with the psychological theory of Maslow’s Hierarchy, needs can be categorised into the following:
- Physiological needs: air, food, water, clothing, shelter, sleep
- Safety and security: Health, employment, property, family, stability
- Love and belonging: Friendship, family, intimacy, connections
- Self-esteem needs: Confidence, achievements, respect of others, connections, need for individuality
- Self-actualisation: Morality, creativity, spontaneity, acceptance, experience, purpose, meaning, inner potential
Maslow’s hierarchy of human needs suggests the following:
- Physical survival is the most basic need of humans and will be the first thing that motivates behaviour
- Once one level is met, the next level is what motivates a person
- Physiological needs are the most important
- Various needs can be felt at the same time or shift between levels (something that was more rigid in the beginning stages of the theory)
Human needs impact on mental health
Well-being is tied to the fulfillment of human needs, so when the foundational needs like safety or love are not met, there may be a struggle to move towards high level growth, like self-esteem.
This can also lead to:
- Strained relationships: feeling lonely, misunderstood and isolated if needs for love and connection go unmet
- Stress and anxiety: insecurity or threats may be experienced if safety or connection is not met
Self-Determination Theory (SDT)
SDT theory suggests three basic psychological needs:
- Autonomy: control over one’s actions
- Competence: feel capable and effective
- Relatedness: meaningful connections with others
Emotional distress, helplessness and frustration can be experienced when these are not met. Examples of why this might be:
- No control over choices
- Feeling isolated
- Feeling ineffective or incompetent
These can then undermine self-esteem and bring about feelings of resentment, anxiety and depression.
There are also other theories out there by various people, including Tony Robinson.
Tony Robinson’s 6 Basic Human Needs
Tony Robinson’s theory of the 6 basic human needs are as follows:
- Certainty
- Uncertainty/variety
- Significance
- Connection/lobe
- Growth
- Contribution
Alderfer’s ERG Theory
ERG theory is a dynamic model that suggests overlapping needs and back-and-forth movement up and down the model. There are three core categories:
- Existence needs (physiological and material needs – water, shelter, safety)
- Relatedness needs (social connections and interpersonal relationships – love, belonging)
- Growth needs (self-fulfilment and personal development – self-actualisation)
Breakdown of some of the key basic human needs
You can see a general theme across many of the different human need theories. Here is an exploration across some of the key ones that stand out and the importance of these human needs.
Biological needs
These are the more immediate needs a human needs to survive. These include:
- Food and water: compel a human to seek sustenance
- Sleep: restoration of energy levels, cognitive function and is important for mental and physical health
- Safety and shelter: Protection from harm and the elements
- Sex: Reproduction
Psychological needs
- Love and belonging: Natural and essential desire for love, companionship and connection.
- Esteem: Respect and recognition, from self and others
- Self-actualisation: Creativity, personal growth and fulfilment
Why are human needs important when it comes to mental health
Regardless of what theory you look at, it is clear that there are universal human needs that are important to survival, health, and growth.
It proves helpful in the context of mental health as it can offer insights into why people experience distress and anxiety.
Some theories suggest that, if needs aren’t met, people may adopt maladaptive coping mechanisms that help them to cope day-to-day, for example, become co-dependent, but that does not then serve that person in adult relationships.
Lonliness can lead to depression, because connection and belonging are important.
You might be annoyed that your partner is scrolling on their phone. The annoyance there might be because of something under the surface, for example, your need for connection is not being met.
This is to raise awareness of what MIGHT be lying under the surface, not to blame or shame anyone.
It is also not to put the responsibility on any one person around needs not being met. There are different people, circumstances and reasons. It does not always come from a bad place.
However, needs not being met can also lead to:
- Higher risks for anxiety, depression and personality disorders
- Frustration, anger, sadness, hopelessness
- Compensation in unhealthy ways, such as substance abuse or compulsive behaviours
- Chronic stress
- Trust issues, fear of abandonment, difficulties with emotional intimacy
- Low self-esteem
- Inability to regulate emotions
- Hypervigilience, oversensitive
- Fixer/victim dynamics
- People-pleasing tendencies
- Emotional shutdown, disassociation
- Activation of fight, flight, freeze, or fawn unnecessarily
- Chasing safety or validation in relationships
- Fear of vulnerability due to reflection or judgment
Safety needs can be linked to both physical safety and emotional predictability, trust and consistency. If these are not met in childhood, they can create an embodied survival mode that goes beyond childhood.
How unmet needs can impact your mental health examples
Security
If a person does not feel safe, physically or emotionally, they may seek out relationships with a person who takes on that role, but then quite strongly fears loosing them. This can lead to clingyness and insecurity. On the other hand, some people seek relationships that mimic their younger relationships. While not pleasant, they are familiar and what that person knows. Some may struggle to trust or feel secure with anyone and unconsciously push people away.
Control
If a person experiences an event that felt out of control or chaotic when they were younger, it may lead to developing a need for control as they get older. They may not realise they are doing it, but they may be hyper aware of shifts in mood, tone or behaviours. They may also plan for all worse case scenarios, and take the lead to care for those around them. Control may be an accurate word for some when reflecting on their behaviours, as the person just wants everyone to be safe and okay. But control can seem harsh, and really it is the nervous system trying to stop history repeating itself and seeking safety.
For some, this may show up in other ways, such as eating disorders or obsessive-compulsive disorders.
Approval
If someone grows up in a critical or unkind environment, who does not get the needs met of approval or appreciation, may grow up seeking this externally from others. Unfortunately, this criticism gets internalised and becomes the voice of their inner dialogue or the lens they see the world through. This can lead to a lack of boundaries, people pleasing and working hard to achieve success or approval in someone else’s eyes. This is exhausting
Emotional deprivation
If emotional needs are not met, then it can make a person feel lonely and isolated. They may hide or lessen their needs and emotions, believing they don’t matter. A person may believe that they basic huma needs are secondary to other peoples, or the stereotypical (and dangerous) view that strong people don’t have needs or emotions. This can lead to things like avoidance, overcompensation and choosing unresponsive partners.
Why it is important to know and learn about unmet human needs
Self-reflection
When needs go unmet, they may be driving certain behaviours, responses and distress/anxiety from you unconsciously. Awareness can help you reflect on what needs you have, whether they are being met, and then you can take more intentional action. Clarity will help you determine if unmet needs are linked to why you feel distressed or unfulfilled.
It can also help you to understand why another person may be responding in their own way, and that their response to you is not personal. For example, a partner may shut down or push away because that is how they got their need for safety met as a child.
Better relationships
You can strengthen relationships when you know what your friends and partners may need, so you can offer support that meets their physical and emotional needs. It is also helpful to know what your own needs are, so you can ensure you know how to meet them yourself rather than relying too heavily on a partner to do so… or you know what to ask for. Many relationship issues have come from unmet needs underneath the surface-level behaviour and a lack of understanding from themselves and their partner then as a result.
Some examples of human needs that come up in a relationship:
- Safety and security: the need for a reliable, trusted and consistent partner
- Recognition: the need to feel seen, heard, understood and appreciated
- Connection: emotional intimacy, quality time and physical
While you might be getting frustrated at your partner’s consistent phone use, what could be actually be underneath that is the lack of quality time, affection, or being seen or heard.
If you have a pattern of unmet needs in childhood, it can create attachment issues and behaviours that lead to chasing safety or validation in relationships.
Improved coping strategies
When you can better understand what is underneath or driving your feelings and behaviours, you can replace bad coping mechanisms with good ones. You can make more intentional decisions to meet your needs. This might look like boundaries, professional help and self-care practices.
Enhanced resilience
You can foster resilience when you meet psychological needs, as it helps you to provide a foundation for coping when life gets challenging. When your needs are met, you have more capacity and are better equipped to handle stress.
Not getting your needs met may be percieved as a threat or danger.
Bowen (2021) suggests that human needs priorities can actually be switched around when a person has experienced trauma. For example, safety becomes of the utmost importance. When a person experiences trauma, the alarm system in the brain stays on high alert. They may also experience the survival loop. When an unsafe situation happens, their body activates certain survival mechanisms to be able to respond, but they get stuck on a loop because there is no completion. Part of this response includes the flooding of hormones into the body, which serves a purpose when you are responding to a threat, but not day-to-day.
Practical steps to address unmet needs
- Therapy: Speaking with a therapist or coach can help you identify unmet needs and strategies for addressing them.
- Mindfulness and self-reflection: Engaging in practices like journaling, meditation and mindfulness can help you become more aware of your emotional needs and how to fulfill them.
- People and community: Surround yourself with people who support and understand you.
- Self-compassion and self-care: Nurture yourself, set boundaries and give yourself the care you deserve.
- Action: In all of the above, you may begin to become more aware of your own needs and desires. Take small actions to start meeting your own needs.
Human needs are required for survival, like food and water, while others are linked to emotional and psychological needs, and are more tangible, for example, self-esteem and personal achievement.
Understanding human needs is really important to understanding what could be contributing to and driving certain thoughts, behaviours and responses. All needs are different and can manifest in different ways.
If human needs go unmet, they can impact your mental health and lead to stress, emotional difficulties and maladaptive coping behaviours.
Sources
- Maslow, A. H. (1943). A theory of human motivation. Psychological Review, 50 (4), 370-96.
- Maslow, A. H. (1954). Motivation and personality. New York: Harper and Row.
- Maslow, A. H. (1962). Toward a psychology of being. Princeton: D. Van Nostrand Company.
- Maslow, A. H. (1970a). Motivation and personality. New York: Harper & Row.
- Maslow, A. H. (1970b). Religions, values, and peak experiences. New York: Penguin. (Original work published 1966)
- Maslow, A. H. (1987). Motivation and personality (3rd ed.). Delhi, India: Pearson Education.
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