Take some of the most reliable tests in psychology to understand yourself better. The tests are free to take with instant results, no personal information collection, and no hidden charges. Quizzes are an effective way to quantify what you’re going through. By seeing how you score on them, you can be strategic about what things you can work on in your personal development journey.
Humans are social and hierarchical species. They can’t stop comparing themselves with others to know where they lie on the social hierarchy. When they make an upward social comparison, i.e., when they encounter someone who’s ‘above’ them or better than them in some vital way, they feel inferior. You’ll always find someone better than you …
Childhood emotional neglect occurs when one or both parents consistently ignore their child’s emotional needs. For optimal physiological and psychological development, children need the emotional support of their parents. They need to feel they matter—their thoughts and emotions matter. Parents who are responsive to the emotional needs of their children raise securely attached children. These …
Emotional numbness means shutting down one’s emotions, usually in response to extreme physical or emotional pain. It’s a defense mechanism of the mind that tries to protect us from further pain. Emotional numbness can be seen as a form of dissociation– a response to trauma. When people experience a traumatic event, they may dissociate from: …
You’ve probably heard the ‘love yourself’ advice a million times by now. It’s nauseatingly common, and there’s a good reason for that. A lot of people don’t like themselves. Some downright hate themselves. I’m not a fan of irrational optimism, but I’m not a fan of irrational pessimism either. I advocate rational and realistic thinking …
A sadist is someone who derives pleasure from the pain of others. Sadistic personalities tend to be aggressive toward others. They enjoy causing pain to others and humiliating them. While sadism is similar to psychopathy (lacking empathy) and sociopathy (being antisocial), the key differentiating for sadism is that sadistic acts are purely committed for pleasure. …
Abuse in relationships can be physical or emotional. While physical abuse is obvious and needs no test, emotional abuse can sometimes leave the victim confused: “Am I being emotionally abused or not?” Unlike physical abuse, emotional abuse can easily hide under the shadows of things like ‘It was my fault’ or ‘Their anger was justified’. …
Pathological lying, also called pseudologia fantastica or mythomania, is a condition in which a person lies excessively and uncontrollably with no apparent motive. The lies are exaggerated, complicated, and detailed. It seems that the pathological liar is lying for the sake of lying out of habit. While pathological liars may seem to be lying for …
Emotional detachment is the opposite of emotional attachment and empathy. People who are emotionally detached are unable to fully engage with their feelings and the feelings of others. For some people, emotional detachment is a personality trait. They consistently show behaviors that scream emotional distance. For others, emotional detachment is a strategy they occasionally deploy …
We all desire some degree of control in our lives because it makes us feel good and in charge of things. However, controlling behavior can quickly slide into annoying or downright abusive behavior. Controlling behavior makes others feel embarrassed, violated, and inferior. Controlling people either fear losing control, or they’re addicted to overpowering others and …
Trauma can be caused by any negative, life-threatening experience. People can be traumatized by other people, accidents, illnesses, natural disasters, political unrest, and the like. Childhood trauma is especially damaging because the minds of young children are highly impressionable. Since young children spend most of their time with their parents, most people have been traumatized …