This week I’d like to discuss attachment styles.

Attachment is the one thing that reminds us all that we are human.

It’s the one thing that snaps you back to reality when you’re feeling emotions about someone or something.

Sometimes attachment can become unhealthy & that’s what we want to avoid to maintain healthy relationships with people & things.

There are 4 attachment styles, according to Attachment Theory:

• Secure

• Anxious

• Dismissive

• Fearful

The secure style means you’re able to trust, attentive to your emotions, can communicate directly, & are flexible.

The anxious style means you have a sensitive nervous system, struggle to communicate, & gets triggered easily.

The dismissive style means you downplay the importance relationships, hyper independent, doesn’t handle change or the unknown well.

The fearful style means you have independent relationships, fears rejection, has low self-esteem, & high anxiety.

The exact cause of attachment disorders is not known but research shows that these disorders develop within children who are given inadequate care-giving, they then turn into codependent adults who operate from a place of lack & create unhealthy relationships unknowingly.

Signs of unhealthy attachment can include:

• Being worried when a friend or partner don’t respond back immediately

• You put yourself last

• Constantly seeking approval

• Excessively jealous

• Avoid getting emotionally close with others

• Dismissive when it comes to being emotionally intimate with others

To treat unhealthy attachments:

• Identify your attachment style

• Seek a therapist if needed

• Create relationships with those who have a secure attachment style

• Practice healthy self-talk & behaviors, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy can be extremely helpful

As humans we get attached to people, things, & places.

As frowned upon as that is, I think it shows emotion & vulnerability.

I think as long as it’s shown in a healthy manner, having attachments doesn’t need to be deemed as negative.

I think attachment is what holds memories alive & if practiced in a healthy manner we can maintain our mental wellness.

If practiced in an unhealthy manner, it can create a struggle.

⁃ MML