In this eclipse time, where the things we don’t need are falling away left and right, I want to offer some permission slips for you:
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One of the things I love most about being an attachment therapist and working with attachment styles is teaching clients and their important people how to soothe the specific wounds of each style. Depending on your relationships growing up, you likely experience certain aspects of relationships as particularly painful, tender, or vulnerable.
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As I’ve been researching and planning for our disorganized attachment offerings, I’ve been thinking about how easy it can be to slip into younger versions of ourselves when stress, trauma, fear, or overwhelm creep in. Parts work, or Internal Family Systems, can be a beautiful and extremely helpful framework for understanding why we show up the way we do in moments of stress and anxiety—especially in our relationships.
Safety, clarity, and connection are qualities that create a grounded experience in the nervous system. When confusion and disorientation are corrected (clarity), the body and brain feel safe (safety), and the ability to connect is freed up (connection). Over the many years I’ve been exploring attachment work and supporting clients in developing a felt sense of safety in their bodies, these are the aspects that have resonated most.
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The style that is discussed the least, and is also deeply misunderstood, is the disorganized/fearful avoidant attachment adaptation. In many realms, I think people don’t want to talk about this style because of the complexity it can bring up.
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One of the things I share with clients all the time is the reminder that we come by our attachment patterning honestly. When we dig more deeply into this idea, we can recognize the importance of the family dynamics we experience when we are young and how those patterns shape our relationships as adults. So often, the stress of daily living becomes the soup we swim in as children.
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I have a bit of a controversial opinion: maybe we should be investing in the relationships we have instead of fantasizing about something better.
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I have been thinking a lot about how I used to think I had to hold space for EVERYTHING. It wasn't long ago that my boundaries were messy and I was overly accommodating. I caused myself a significant amount of anxiety (not to mention drama and ways to keep myself busy) by engaging in relational dynamics that were unhealthy and unpredictable.
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Twenty years ago, I had just turned 18 and my dad hadn’t died yet.
I was preparing to move for my first year of college. I was working as a hostess at a restaurant, eating baguette and butter for dinner most nights I was there. I was in a relationship with a person who was exceptionally intelligent and emotionally manipulative, and I felt like I didn’t deserve anything more than I already had, in that relationship or otherwise. My self-esteem was tanked and I was depressed.
I have something exciting to share:
I'm bored in my business, and I am thrilled about this!
Don’t get me wrong—I absolutely love attachment work and that love isn't going anywhere. I began my private therapy practice in 2015 and dove headfirst into all things attachment. From my training in Emotionally Focused Therapy for Couples to the first three levels of Dynamic Attachment Repatterning, I've been thoroughly immersed in the world of attachment theory for many years. The resonance I feel with this work is core-deep.
This blog post is a follow-up to a previously published post, Is Your Partner Avoidant or Abusive? Let’s talk about the differences. This post continues to receive comments and engagement, and I want to continue the discussion here with additional nuance and updated considerations.
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I hope you’re enjoying early springtime. Here in the mountains of Western North Carolina, so much is already blooming and I’m soaking it all in on my short walks (waddles?) with my dog. I’m 37 weeks pregnant and even though our initial plans were to have a non-surgical birth this time around, it looks like we are headed that direction after all. This sweet baby is happy to sit head-up in their cozy uterus hammock and just like with my first, seems to be asking us to come get them. So my mantra lately has been “okay love, I hear you. Stay put. We are coming for you. We will be there so soon.”
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