9 Primal human needs

As well as the obvious ‘basic needs for water, food, and shelter, we humans have a set of basic needs which are not so obvious, but just as essential to emotional wellbeing – these are the primal human needs, fundamental needs.

When one or more of these needs go unmet for too long, we can suffer anxiety, depression, addiction, or some other emotional problem. And because this develops over time, it can be easily overlooked, leaving us confused about why we’ve got this problem.

Here are the 9 primal human needs. Knowing them and ensuring you meet them healthily, at least most of the time, will transform your life, do more higher-level stuff.

1. The need to give and receive attention – Too much isolation can drastically affect our mental condition, emotional state, and behaviour. We all need, to varying degrees, regular quality contact with other people.
2. The need to heed the mind/body connection – People increasingly treat themselves as machines. We work through lunch, sleep too little, eat junk on the run, skip the gym, and prop up our flagging bodies with ‘energy drinks’. But neglecting proper nutrition, sleep, rest, and exercise long-term leads to psychological problems and stress-induced illness.
3. The need for purpose, goals, and meaning – Humans have an innate ability to identify, analyze, and imaginatively solve problems. If a person is deprived of the satisfaction that comes from achieving goals or fulfilling a purpose, the imagination can start to create problems of its own.
4. The need for community and making a contribution – This basic need gives us a reason for being, over and above our own personal needs, that has been shown to benefit the immune system, mental health, and happiness. Anything that takes the focus off the self will achieve this, whether it’s religion, clubs, or charity work.
5. The need for challenge and creativity – Try something new. Explore. Learn. Improve an existing skill. Without a sense of progress and achievement, we can come to feel worthless, like there’s no reason for our existence. Boredom can rear its ugly head and make life feel flat. We all need to be stretched (but not stressed).
6. The need for intimacy – We all need at least one person with whom we can share our ideas, hopes, and dreams. Some people are able to fulfil this need by talking to a loved pet, but most of us need a small circle of loving and supportive friends and/or family.
7. The need for control – From survivors of torture to survivors of layoffs, those who are able to maintain a sense of control somewhere in their life fare the best, so having a variety of interests and activities is important.
8. The need for status – It’s important to feel important, and we shouldn’t be ashamed to have this desire. Status means different things to different people and isn’t just met through paid work. For some, feeling recognized for being a good grandmother, parent, son, or daughter might be enough. Much disruptive, problematic behaviour may be a misapplied attempt to meet this need for recognition.
9. The need for safety and security – To varying degrees, we all have some need to feel safe and secure in life.

Can we have time to meet all these needs fully? Well, fortunately, you can meet your primal human needs by introducing only a few basic changes in your life. That’s because one activity can meet many needs. t’s also really important to make sure each need is met by more than one activity

When our primal human needs are met, we blossom and grow.