Attention seeking behavior. Lonely.

The first step to knowing whether you engage in attention-seeking behavior is to know precisely what it means. Attention-seeking behavior is quite simply doing things that are likely to get others to notice you. Any number of behaviors could fall under this category. Examples Of Attention-Seeking Behavior: "Fishing" For Compliments True compliments are the kind that is given without being asked for. If you feel confident about yourself and put effort into your work, relationships, and self, you're likely to have your efforts acknowledged. Some people, however, feel guilty or deeply insecure about who they are. Insecurity can cause people to seek constant validation from others. Most of us fish for compliments at some point or another, and it's not always a sign of low self-esteem. However, it becomes a problem when a person consistently uses compliments as their only source of self-worth. Though it feels good to be acknowledged by the people around us, it's also important to find ways to validate ourselves. By doing so, you can find a sense of security without needing praise from others. If you find yourself relying heavily on others' opinions of you, it may be time to look at why. Though it's completely natural to want to feel respected and valued, putting too much pressure on others to instill confidence in a person can strain relationships. A good first step is to start building confidence in your self-worth. A licensed therapist can also help you develop a healthy sense of confidence. You are worthy of love and acceptance as you are. Seeking Sympathy Sympathy seeking is another common form of attention-seeking behavior. Unfortunately, it often takes the form of negative attention. Rather than receiving attention and praise for your good qualities, you're receiving sympathy - or even pity - for your misfortunes. This is not to say that sympathy is bad, but it is unhealthy to attempt purposefully to gain sympathy from others. Intentionally looking for sympathy may play out as engaging in risky behaviors, indulging in situations you know are unhealthy, and can even lead to you causing harm to yourself. These behaviors can be extremely dangerous. It's important to remember that there are other ways to seek out support that don't involve putting yourself, or others, at risk. Feigning Lack Of Ability This behavior is often seen in young children, but sometimes adults will also try to use this to their advantage when they feel neglected. Feigning a lack of ability means you ask others to perform tasks for you because you tell them that you can't. By pretending to be inadequate in certain areas, you gain the attention of others and have someone holding your hand through things - even at the risk of making yourself seem inadequate. There are many different reasons you might be tempted to seek out attention, including low self-esteem or a fear of being neglected. A person could also exhibit these attention-seeking behaviors as a result of heightened emotions. When a person feels intense emotions of rage, jealousy, or abandonment - they may react irrationally. In that case, the behaviors may be temporary or as a result of poor impulse control. When this behavior happens repeatedly, it can become habitual. In these cases, people utilize unhealthy attention-seeking behaviors consistently. Here are some of the common causes of chronic attention-seeking. Low Self-Esteem Many people who seek negative attention have low self-esteem, and they feel insecure about themselves. They may be afraid that others can't feel genuine love for them or feel inadequate. As a result, some people with low self-esteem may overcompensate to disguise their feelings or act in ways that give them a temporary sense of power. Signs of low self-esteem include: Bragging,Being easily bossed around,Being excessively timid or aggressive,Showing a false self to others,Being indecisive and uncomfortable with making decisions,Rebelling for no apparent reason,Putting a lot of stock in material possessions. Attention Seeking Behavior And Its Relation To Personality Disorders Attention seeking can be a part of a personality disorder. Personality disorders often associated with attention-seeking include narcissistic personality disorder, histrionic personality disorder, and borderline personality disorder. All three personality disorders are part of a cluster known as dramatic personality disorders or cluster B personality disorders.

Consult for counselling and further assistance.

People tend to learn these attention-seeking behaviors out of fear. In fact, you may not even realize that what you are doing is attention-seeking behavior. If you crave attention and fall into using unhealthy behaviors to get it, you can get help. You don't have to rely on others for your confidence and self-esteem. The best source of self-esteem is feeling confident about yourself. You have to love yourself first. Otherwise, the love of others may never feel sincere to you. If you want to change your behavior, the first thing you need to do is learn to acknowledge it. Focus on identifying times when you're engaging in these behaviors, and look for the underlying reason why you do it. Journaling or keeping a written record is a great way to track what triggers these behaviors and how they affect your relationships. Build Your Self-Esteem to Combat Attention Seeking Behavior Growing your confidence and self-esteem can help you learn to build yourself up, so you won't look to others to do it for you. An easy way to start improving your confidence is to start tracking your regularly having success. Start by celebrating really small tasks and then build up to bigger ones. When you start to see the success you're having, it will grow even more and boost your self-esteem. Do More Listening Than Talking If you're used to seeking attention, there's a good chance that you do a lot more talking than listening. Start working on putting the focus on others - instead of trying to have it all for yourself. This might feel uncomfortable to you at first because you aren't used to it, but it will get easier as you continue to do it. Making an effort to shift your attention from yourself to the people around you can help them feel closer to you. As a result, it can be rewarding to focus your attention outside of yourself actively. Give Therapy A Try Talking with a mental health professional is an effective way to work on changing your behavior. Like those at BetterHelp, a therapist can work with you to help you identify where your craving for attention is coming from and what changes you can make to stop engaging in these behaviors. You can read reviews of our therapists below from people experiencing similar issues.