Self-entitlement is a growing problem in our society. More and more people feel they are owed something and that the world owes them a good life, which often leads to anger and frustration when things don't go their way. This blog post will explore the psychology of entitlement and why it is such a problem. We will also discuss ways to deal with self-entitlement.

Entitled people are everywhere.

Self-entitled people seem to get more common nowadays. You probably have encountered one in your life or even have one in your social circle. Self-entitlement refers to a personality trait where an individual believes they deserve more than they have in life, such as receiving special treatment, attention, and privileges. Moreover, people with entitled behavior think they deserve to accept such things without exerting any effort that merits such rewards. It's as if the world owes them something. This sense of entitlement can be seen in people who exhibit the following behaviors.

• "Rules don't apply to me" is what self-entitled people may think about themselves. So don't be surprised to see such people cut in line or ignore traffic rules and other regulations as they believe they are above the law. You may hear them say, "Don't you know who I am?" especially for self-entitled people who hold some authority, a position of power, or whatever amount of fame they may have.
• Gratitude doesn't seem to exist in their vocabulary, so don't be shocked not to hear them say thanks after doing them a favor or giving them something. In their minds, it's only fitting to receive such blessings because they deserve them.
• Entitled individuals may act high and mighty in front of people. As a result, their sense of self-worth can get inflated. They may demand admiration and attention from others like they are authority figures, which can be the case for some high-ranking people with an entitlement mentality.
• The way they demand things can be unforgiving. They often insist they get what they want, with no second option. If they don't, expect them to throw tantrums, which can lead to them berating whoever is denying or can't give what they want.
• Selfishness plays a significant part in the behavior of an entitled person. Their needs should get prioritized first while ignoring everybody else's. A lack of empathy can be evident, and they may demand people to obey or serve them.

The effects and causes of entitlement

Feeling entitled is not a very desirable trait among people. On the contrary, it causes friction in personal and professional relationships, often leading self-entitled people into conflicts with others due to their behavior. In addition, there can be frequent disappointments for self-entitled people because they won't always be able to get what they want, yet they may constantly have demands for various things. Anger and frustration happen when desires are unmet, leading self-entitled people to demand more, leading to a cycle. It can also be challenging to interact with such people because they may have a limited worldview centered only on what they want.

There are various reasons why one may develop self-entitled behavior. First, the environment one grows up in childhood can influence such behavior. For example, being spoiled during childhood reinforces the idea that it's possible to acquire things without exerting much effort. The way authority figures, like parents, teachers, or any older people, inculcate ideas in the minds of the youth, such as teaching them that they deserve better, can also affect a child's behavior and cause them to develop theories of self-entitlement later.

Another way a sense of self-entitlement can create is when someone got treated unfairly in the past or grew up with many unmet expectations and experienced many wrongs. People with such histories can then start to demand such things from others, thinking that others owe them something even if they didn't play any part in their past grievances.

Self-entitlement can also come as a result of a personality disorder. One example is a narcissistic personality disorder, which causes someone to place a high value on themselves, to the exclusion of everybody else, and desire to have only their needs and wants to get met.

Dealing with self-entitlement

It can be frustrating to deal with people who often think they deserve special treatment. Relationships can get one-sided, and you may only have importance to a self-entitled person if you can give what they want. However, we still need to show concern for such people, as their self-entitled behavior can only damage their mental and emotional health in the long run and affect their relationships with others. Therefore, it is vital to make them aware of their behaviors and teach them how to respect others and show empathy. In addition, make them aware that the system of the world is not something that will hand out everything you desire, and frequently, we have to work hard to obtain something. If you suspect that a personality disorder is the cause of entitled behavior for someone you know, reach out to a therapist. These solutions for self-entitlement have to get done mainly by someone aside from the self-entitled person because a self-entitled individual may not see anything wrong with what they are doing and refuse to change by themselves. So for us who have to deal with such individuals in our lives, we must reach out to them and help them get out of such destructive behavior before they harm themselves or do something terrible to others. Awareness is essential to make a change, both for the parties concerned and the people who exhibit self-entitled behaviors.