Itsaysthatfromwhenweare a child, weexpectloveandattentionfromourcaretakerslikeourparents, guardians, soonandsoforth.
Theamountofloveandattentionthatwereceivewhenwe're a childdetermineshowwewillbeinourfuturerelationships.
Soundskindafamiliar, right?
Toexplainthistheory, I wouldliketointroducethreeofmygoodfriendstoyou. Theyeachrepresentthedifferenttypesofattachmentswecanhavefromwhenwewere a child.
ThisisLilly, she's thesecuretype.
Lillycomesfrom a verywarm, nurturing, lovingfamilywheresheneverfeltlikeshelackedloveandattention. Whenshegotolder, shebecame a strong, confidentwomanbecauseshealwaysknewthatshewillsomehowreceiveloveandattention.
ThisisJane. Jane's theavoidanttype.
Janegrewupwith a familythatwasdistant, eitherphysically, emotionally, orboth. Insomecases, thefamiliesoftheavoidanttypescanalsobeabusive.
Whenitcomestointimacy, Lillywasalwayshappytospendasmuchtimeasshecouldwithhersignificantother. Butwhentheyhadtobeapart, shewouldneverfretorworry. "Baby, I trustinourrelationship, I knowthatwewillalwayshaveeachother."
Jane (wouldbe) alreadyhalfwayoutthedoor. "I knew I couldn't trustanyone. I knewthat I amaloneandhad I justlistenedtomyselfbefore I wouldn't havegottenhurt."
Paulwouldjuststarttoquestionhimselfanddrowninhisownnegativethoughtsabouthimself. "Whatdid I dowrong? I havetofixmyselfandchangesothat I canbebetterforher."
Butifyouprefertospendmostofyourtimewithyoursignificantother, then a relationshipwiththeAnxioustypecouldbegreatforyouboth.
Thefactthatyouprefertobewiththemformostofyourtimewillgivethem a senseofsecurityandbuildconfidenceintherelationship. Andwhoknows? Maybeeveninthemselves.
AsforJane, well, meetinganotherAvoidanttypewillbeasiftwopeoplebuilt a newgreatwallofChinajustbetweenthemandneverspendingtimetogether. Theyendupdoingwhattheywantbythemselvesorwiththeirowngroupoffriends, andarecompletelyseparatefromeachother. They'd rathernotgetclosejustincasetheywouldfallinloveandjustincasetheywouldgethurt.
Andlastly, andprobablythemostdifficultofalltheAttachmenttypestoputtogetherwouldbetheJanesandthePauls, ortheAnxiousandtheAvoidanttypes. Onewouldneedsomuchspaceandeasilyfeelssuffocatedwhiletheotherneedssomuchloveand a thunderstormofattention.
Thatcouldbe a prettydifficultcase.
Ofcourse, thesecouldalsobetheextremecasesoftheattachmentstyles, andit's nottosaythateveryonewho's a Janeis a constantflightrisk, oreveryonewho's a Paulisgoingtobesoclingy. It's moreof a guidelineofonewayourchildhoodcanaffectourrelationships.