One Way Your Partner Can Calm Your Attachment Anxiety

One Way Your Partner Can Calm Your Attachment Anxiety
Knowing their partner truly appreciates them can alleviate the anxiety some people suffer from unhealthy previous relationships. fizkes/Shutterstock
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People with attachment anxiety may yearn to be closer to their partners but never seem to get close enough. This condition can leave them feeling unloved.

Attachment anxiety is the belief that you are not worthy of love and that your partner is likely to reject or abandon you. Adults who didn’t experience the care and safety of a loving parental relationship—whether due to neglect, abuse, emotional coldness, or inconsistent attention to their basic needs as a child—tend to be emotionally overreactive and in need of constant reassurance from others. This can interfere with their mental health and lead to more conflicts in their relationships.

Jill Suttie
Jill Suttie
Author
Jill Suttie, Psy.D., is Greater Good’s former book review editor and now serves as a staff writer and contributing editor for the magazine. This article was republished from the Greater Good online magazine.
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