While a certain amount of approval-seeking is part of relationships, when it is out of control and taken to the extreme, it can create dysfunction and cause unnecessary pain.

And when this happens, a man’s mental and emotional wellbeing is going to suffer. However, in order for a man to seek this level of approval in the first place, something within is already faulty.

Behaviour

Let’s take a look at the kind of behaviour that approval-seeking creates. On one side, we can see that it can cause a man to be needy, submissive, weak-willed, uncertain, vulnerable or passive around women. Here, a man could be like a chameleon and adapt his behaviour to the woman’s needs. And whatever gains the most approval will be the behaviour that is displayed.

The words, “This is who I am” are not communicated in any form in this approval-seeking situation. They will be replaced with, “Who do you want me to be?”