Prioritizing Our Needs: Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

One of the things I struggle with most, which is common for neurodivergent individuals, is the ability to prioritize the things I need to get done or focus on. Knowing which things are most important for me to be addressing first sometimes feels absolutely impossible.

Because I struggled with this so much, my doctor shared this hierarchy and guide with me for determining how important something is, and whether I should be prioritizing it first or last on my list of to-do’s. Because it’s been so helpful for me, I’ve decided to share it with you!

This is: Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs as a general reference and starting point. (The most important things begin on the bottom and go up.)

What is Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs?

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs is an idea in psychology presented by Abraham Maslow. It proposed that there is a hierarchy in which humans are motivated to get their needs met. The first 4 levels are basic needs, known as deficit needs, which means when there is a deficit of any of these needs, we become more motivated to get these needs, and that motivation increases the longer we go without those needs. At the very top of the pyramid is self-actualization, which is a growth need, meaning we achieve this level through creative and intellectual pursuits.

Maslow opined the hierarchy of the pyramid was the way humans obtained their needs and desires. When the first level had been satisfied, the individual would then move onto the next level of the pyramid. It has since been clarified that individuals can move between these locations on the pyramid without fully satisfying all the needs on the level before it.

The levels are as follows:

Physiological needs (Bottom Level)

• Clothes & hygiene

• Food & water

• Shelter

• Sleep

• Heat

• Air

Physiological needs are the needs that must be met for the human body to remain in homeostasis. They are the biological component for human survival. According to Maslow, these needs should be met before a human will try to get to the next level in the hierarchy.

Safety needs (Second Level)

• Health

• Financial needs

• Feeling safe

• Employment

• Emotional security

• Savings accounts

• Disability accommodations

• Insurance policies

After physiological needs are met, safety needs are the next level of motivation for humans. Our safety needs include “feeling safe”, this means physical safety, but in the absence of physical safety, this looks like job security, protecting ones self against possible bad situations, and this will predominate any other area above it if these needs are not met. It’s essential for humans to feel safe and have stability in our lives.

Love and social belonging needs (Third Level)

• Friends & family

• Religion

• Mentors

• Intimacy

• Trust

• Acceptance

The third level of human needs is the need to fulfill a sense of belonging and connection with other humans. Being a part of a group is crucial for helping to fulfill the sense of belonging that one must feel with others around them. This group can be work, friends, or family. The main factor is that the person has a sense of acceptance and belonging, a place where they can give love and affection, and receive it back.

Esteem needs (Fourth Level)

• Achievements

• Self-respect, self-confidence

• Independence & freedom

• Learning opportunities

• Chance to discover ourselves

Esteem needs encompass the need for self-respect as well as respect from others. Respect from others can come from fame or attention, status or recognition for who one is. Self respect comes through things that build self-confidence, independence, strength, freedom, and competence. Esteem comes from day to day experiences that allow us to discover ourselves.

Self-actualization (Top)

• Pursuing goals

• Parenting

• Developing talents and abilities

• Growing with your partner

Self-actualization refers to the need to realize ones full potential. Maslow describes this as “the desire to accomplish everything that one can, to be become the most that one can.” All other needs lead to this level of self-actualization. Not only does one need to achieve the levels before to get here, but they need to master them.

How do I use Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs in prioritizing my needs?

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs wasn’t created to be used as a guide for knowing what to prioritize in your life, but it has taken on the quality of just that for me.

When I started using this with my psychiatrist, he thought it would be helpful for determining what exactly my priorities should be and where my energy should lie when it came to goal setting and working to achieve things to improve my life.

When we first began, I was really struggling in all areas. I felt like I had too many areas I needed help in and I let that uncertainty about where to start get in the way of my actually getting started with changing my life.

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs gave me a good place to start.

The key things I should be worried about first - shelter/home, food and clothing, and sleep. This meant I focused on making sure I had rent for my apartment, making sure I had food and clothing, and making sure I was getting 8 hours of sleep every night. Once I was able to tick those things off my list as items that I had figured out or covered, I moved up the ladder to the next item.

With my safety needs coming next, I focused on things like employment and what I could do to “feel” safe. This looked like getting a renter’s insurance policy because I had a fear of a fire in my apartment, making a plan to begin saving up 3 months expenses in a savings account in case of job loss (I have a massive fear of being homeless!), and getting accommodations at my job to make my work life easier. It also meant I spent more time focused on goals that related to my health and wellness - making doctors appointments when I needed them, figuring out a solution to my dental health, incorporating exercising into my daily routine, and being on top of taking my medications daily.

Only recently have I been able to move up the ladder to the third level, love and social belonging needs. For me, this has looked like a few different things. I don’t have a lot of support, my family lives far away and I’m not very close to a lot of them, and I don’t have any friends that I hang out with or see often. Because of this, my social support is very much lacking. To try to improve in this area, I’ve begun working a little bit harder on relationships with those I am able to surround myself with. It has honestly been one of the toughest things I’ve done, I have A LOT of social anxiety and have to force myself to not avoid things that could strengthen my relationships. Another step I’ve made is with religion. Although my history with religion is very short (for 2 years in high school I did Youth Group at my local church), I made an effort to begin going to a local church and seeing how I felt with doing so. I’ve also gone to a couple of classes they’ve had on faith. I’m at a point where I’m just kind of seeing where this new avenue can take me.

Next up on the list is esteem needs. I haven’t been able to make much progress in this regards but I’ve put some thought into how I would like to go about getting better in this area. The biggest improvement I would like to make is more effort and learning with my blog so I can get my blog out to more people who could hopefully identify with me and how I’m managing my mental illness. I love blogging and would love to take my blog to the next level. One other thing I’ve considered for this level is doing freelancing for other blogs. It would be nice to have an extra source of income, even if it was very small, and would give me a sense of accomplishment with my writing.

And last but not least, self-actualization. I haven’t even really had a chance to think about this level until just now, as I’m sitting here writing this blog post. I would love to begin writing a book that I could eventually send to publishers to hopefully be published. I’m not quite sure what my book would be about yet, but just some thoughts I have for reaching this highest level. I also believe this is the time I may put more effort into finding a relationship (I’ve been single now for 4 years but I’m 34 and not getting any younger!). It may be a time when I begin to seriously think about how important having a family is to me and take actions to begin making that more of a reality for me.

I think it’s important to realize that some of these aspirations may feel out of reach for you in the moment, wherever you are now, but this doesn’t make these dreams impossible to reach. For me personally, with A LOT OF WORK, I still only feel like I’m on the third level of needs. What matters most is having consistent actions that will help lead you in a direction that will improve your life and give you a sense of purpose and direction. I have spent a lot of time working up this ladder but it’s work I’m glad I’ve done because the motivation to improve my life has given me better opportunities and made my life much more manageable and a lot less terrifying.

Do you feel like Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs will be helpful for you? Leave a comment below!