Meeting your needs

According to Eric Berne - the physiatrist, and founder of Transactional Analysis - if we don’t get our needs met we end up with hungers. So it may be worth keeping an eye on the six hungers he identified, to make sure you aren’t neglecting your needs.

1. Stimulus hunger. Taste, smell, temperature, direction, motion, touch, sight, sound, time, balance, pain, speed. If these senses are not stimulated enough it can cause us to become numb, depressed and distressed.

2. Recognition hunger. To be ignored can led to low self-worth and problems with our sense of belonging and identity.

3. Contact hunger. We all need physical contact on a regular basis. Hugs, handshakes, kisses, pats on the back, are examples of small moments of contact that can keep this hunger at bay.

4. Passion hunger. Falling in love, politics, supporting a sporting team, bird-watching, are all example of having passion in our lives.

5. Time structure hungers. Are you making use of your time on this planet, or do you feel you are fritting away your days?

6. Incident hunger. We all need a bit of drama in our lives once in a while to feel alive. We listen to the news of the day and allow ourselves to be shocked, disgusted, outraged, surprised, pleased, overjoyed.

Can you identify any of these needs/hungers in your own life?
What can you do to get your needs met?