Challenges of Attachment Styles and how to Address Them
Introduction
Attachment styles illustrate emotional connections established between infants and their primary caregivers. The attachment theory identifies that the quality of bond experienced by an infant during their first relationship determines their relation with other people and their response to intimacy throughout life. After taking the attachment style quiz, I established my most substantial score was secure. However, after taking Dr. Diane Poole’s attachment test, my highest score was disorganized. Disorganized attachment, also feared-avoidant, comes from intense fear mainly because of childhood abuse, trauma, or neglect (Paetzold et al., 2015). Adults experiencing this type of attachment feel they don’t deserve love and close relationships. Challenges of Attachment Styles and how to Address Them
Challenges Presented by my Attachment Style
Establishing long and stable relationships is a significant challenge presented by individuals with disorganized attachment styles. This is because they don’t have a specific or consistence manner of engaging with other people. They can either show a push or pull energy, commitment, and love in relationships but with great fear of abandonment, making it difficult to have stable relationships (Paetzold et al., 2015). Another challenge is adults with this type of attachment are pessimists in relationships and are always waiting to be rejected. They find it difficult to trust their partners and perceive gestures of love emotions negatively since they cannot separate their childhood pain from present love expression.
Strategies to Address the Challenges
The most effective strategy to address the challenges is by choosing a therapist. Therapies will help heal any childhood trauma from the past that affects my present. Additionally, treatments will help establish safe relationships that help deal with new emotions in a manner that creates healthy attachments. Additionally, working with a therapist helps build consistency and stability as one identifies harmful patterns in their relationships and coping mechanisms. Therefore, therapy will help me cope with my attachment style. Challenges of Attachment Styles and how to Address Them
References
Paetzold, R., Rholes, W., & Kohn, J. (2015). Disorganized Attachment in Adulthood: Theory, Measurement, and Implications for Romantic Relationships. Review Of General Psychology, 19(2), 146-156. https://doi.org/10.1037/gpr0000042 Challenges of Attachment Styles and how to Address Them