Where am I? How do I tell which tier I am on, in Maslow's Hierarchy of social needs?

Question

Where are you?

Answer 1

Accorindg to my studies in Neurolinguistic Programming, the way to tell where you are at is by first listing on a piece of paper "What Do I Need Most ?" and then take one need at a time and ask what will having this give you. You will find that you are going to have one trait in each teir of the hieracrhy depending on the need. For example, there are times of day where everyone has physiological needs of:
the need to breathe
the need to drink water
the need to regulate homeostasis
the need to eat
the need to dispose of bodily wastes

When dealing with people you will have the needs of:
friendship
sexual intimacy
having a supportive and communicative family
It will depend upon the context of your relationship

When dealing with your inner emotions:
all humans have a need to be respected, to have self-respect, and to respect others. People need to engage themselves in order to gain recognition and have an activity or activities that give the person a sense of contribution and self-value, be it in a profession or hobby. Imbalances at this level can result in low self-esteem, inferiority complexes, an inflated sense of self-importance or snobbishness. There are two levels to Esteem needs. The lower of the levels relates to elements like fame, respect, and glory. The higher level is contingent to concepts like confidence, competence, and achievement. The lower level is generally considered poor. It is dependent upon other people, or someone who needs to be reassured because of lower esteem. People with low esteem need respect from others. They may seek fame or glory, which again are dependent on others. However confidence, competence and achievement only need one person and everyone else is inconsequential to one's own success.

It will vary for each aspect or activity in your life where you are at with each level of needs that you have. It is impossible to just be on one tier. Human Beings are so multi-facted, you will vary being on many tiers depending upon which activity you are focusing on.

Answer 2

Those who are around you might have less trouble identifying your level of social needs than you could.
Observe yourself. What is it that makes you restless, worried, that you work hardest at obtaining or protecting.
Do you lie awake at night wondering about how you will eat during the rest of the week? Probably not. Do you lie awake wondering how you will keep safe? A few years ago, perhaps not, but some people may have instilled a sense of insecurity in you for political purposes. If that is the case, then you are probably not all that concerned about needs that are higher on the triangle. Depending, of course, on just how loud that cry or concern for security is in your mind. The lower need, when shouting very loudly, drowns out the higher need.