We are all subjected to internal and external pressures. These pressures push us and pull us in ways that have profound impacts on our lives. Understanding how these systems interact with us can help us respond to them in ways that enable us to live the life we want to live instead of being cast about seemingly at the whim of chaotic forces.
Internal pressure comes from our biological drives. External pressure originates from our relationships and society. These pressures come together in the confluences of our conscious and unconscious mind and become powerful forces shaping our thoughts, feelings, and behaviors.
This is the fascinating combination of two of my favorite research areas: Evolutionary Psychology and Social Psychology.
Evolutionary Psychology studies the development and role of our survival and reproductive drives on our lives, while Social Psychology focuses on the presence of other people influencing our lives through their actions and our perceptions of them.
Another way of looking at these pressures is through the lens of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. Let’s take a look at them for a quick refresher.
- Physiological needs – Basic survival requirements like food, water, sleep, and shelter.
- Safety needs – Security, stability, and protection from harm (e.g., financial security, health, personal safety).
- Love and belonging needs – Social connections, relationships, friendship, intimacy, and a sense of community.
- Esteem needs – Self-respect, recognition, status, and a sense of accomplishment.
- Self-actualization – Personal growth, fulfillment, and achieving one’s highest potential.
Now on the other side of Maslow we can think about the internal pressure and the parallel external pressure to meet these needs. This framework allows us to see what we need and then start to understand how those needs can be met in a way that relieves both internal and external pressure in ways that protect us instead of potentially harming us.
Let’s look at a basic example.
There is a biological need (internal pressure) to eat that runs in parallel with societal influence (external pressure) which tells us what we should and shouldn’t eat. If these internal pressures are matched up to external pressure we can meet our biological needs and our social needs which sustains an effective balance without physiological or cognitive dysregulation.
On the other hand, if the social influence exerts pressure that leads us to sacrifice the biological needs in order meet the needs or expectations of others then we start to have problems. In this case I think it’s pretty easy to see how social pressure to look a certain way could lead to disordered eating behaviors.
My hope is that you can use this framework to take a look at areas of your own life that might be out of balance. This can help develop an understanding that enables you to assess the validity and necessity of internal and external pressures. That understanding is critical to making an informed effort to push back effectively against the pressures that are keeping you from living the life you want to live.
Thank you for reading!
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