The following are examples of what belittling looks like: Yelling or screaming at you to get a reaction. Insulting you — calling you fat, ugly or stupid — or criticizing your parenting skills or intelligence. Ignoring how you feel, disregarding your opinion or failing to recognize your contributions.
Belittling someone means treating them in a way that makes them feel less than they are. It's a form of emotional abuse or insensitivity that is sometimes used to make the other person feel weaker. Often, belittling comments and other behaviour can be subtle.
An individual with low self-esteem may feel the need to make others feel bad about themselves, too—they may want others to feel just as hurt as they do about themselves. This could also come from a desire to get any form of attention in order to feel more valued and loved, to make up for the low self-esteem.
Belittling is the intentional act of making another feel worthless, empty, and dismissed. It is one of many forms of psychological and emotional abuse. Belittling another often creates a personal emptiness and void. It can create a sense of loneliness and despair in the lives of many.
Narcissists must control other people and their environment, including your beliefs, feelings, and actions so that they will feel safe! They demand, belittle, or manipulate you to put raise themselves and put you down. You end up feeling unsafe, which is what they feel inside.
Emotional and psychological abuse can take many forms, including belittling, which can manifest as judging, humiliating, criticizing, trivializing or telling hurtful jokes. But belittling is no joking matter. It's a tactic often used by abusers to make their victims feel small, unimportant or disrespected.
They want to manipulate the person.
It could also be a person seeking to guilt trip someone into doing what they want them to do. Putting others down and belittling them can weaken their self-belief and assertiveness, making them easier to influence.
One good reason why somebody wants to pull you down is that they feel threatened by your presence. A toxic person seeking something might feel afraid that you will take it from them. They might think that you are better than them regarding skills and talents.
A narcissist will manipulate and control others to feel good, which is why they can be abusive in relationships. They can use aggression and be rude, offensive, and belittling towards their partners to wear down their self-worth. This can turn into a sadistic, abusive relationship.
They may put others down because it makes them feel more powerful and in control, but it can also be a way for insecure people to divert attention away from themselves. Insecure people may also belittle others to protect themselves from being vulnerable or rejected by others.
On this page you'll find 105 synonyms, antonyms, and words related to belittle, such as: criticize, decry, deride, discredit, disparage, and downplay.
Examples of condescending behavior include acting as if you know everything and are not open to new ideas, reacting to an upset with “well, that's never happened to me”, offering unsolicited advice (unless you are a supervisor), not being open to feedback, referring to people in the group in the third person (even if ...
Although the word itself doesn't sound too scary, belittling is a form of psychological and emotional abuse that can have lasting effects on a person's mental well-being. Some people purposefully wield belittling behaviors like a manipulative weapon or employ them as a way to fix their partner's flaws and bad habits.
“Condescending behaviors may include insulting or belittling comments, failure to recognize strengths or accomplishments, a dismissive attitude, or a holier-than-thou demeanor,” explains Oona Metz, LICSW, a psychotherapist in Boston, Massachusetts.
People put others down to make themselves feel better
By putting you down, they get a temporary feeling of “I am better than you.” This is an unhealthy way of lifting your self-esteem because you only feel as good as the last person you put down. In fact, you aren't building your self-esteem when you put others down.
Constructive criticism is clear, direct, honest, and easy to implement. It provides specific examples and actionable suggestions for positive change. This type of feedback also highlights ways the recipient can make positive improvements in their behavior to minimize future problems.
The way you view and relate to yourself can also change in the wake of chronic or isolated emotional abuse: Low self-esteem. Emotional abuse that consists of put-downs can wear your self-esteem thin, leading to feelings of worthlessness.
A sort of unethical behavior called abusive or intimidating behavior uses physical or psychological force to intimidate, hurt, or control people or groups. Verbal abuse, physical violence, or even threatening behavior are all examples of this kind of behavior.