Disorganized attachment is characterized by a mix of fear and confusion, where individuals deeply crave intimacy but are also afraid of it. They struggle to maintain consistent patterns in relationships, oscillating between a desire for closeness and a fear of abandonment.
Disorganized attachment often forms in childhood due to inconsistent and unpredictable caregiving. A child may experience moments of love and kindness followed by abuse, neglect, or emotional unavailability, leading to confusion and an inability to develop a consistent internal system for managing relationships and emotional needs.
Adults with disorganized attachment may exhibit fear of intimacy and abandonment, unpredictable behavior in relationships, emotional dysregulation, low self-worth, and hypervigilance. They often oscillate between clinging to their partner and pushing them away, creating a push-pull dynamic.
Predictability is crucial for healing disorganized attachment because the original wound was caused by unpredictability in childhood. Consistent, safe, and trustworthy relationships help rewire the nervous system and create a sense of stability, which is essential for overcoming the confusion and fear associated with disorganized attachment.
The nervous system plays a central role in disorganized attachment, as it is wired during childhood to respond to inconsistent and unpredictable caregiving. This leads to a constant state of hypervigilance and confusion in relationships. Healing involves developing safety within the nervous system through practices like breathwork, meditation, and somatic therapy.
Healing disorganized attachment involves working with a therapist trained in attachment and somatic therapy, rediscovering safety within oneself, mapping and understanding push-pull patterns in relationships, reparenting the inner child, and developing daily grounding practices to regulate the nervous system.
Reparenting is significant in healing disorganized attachment because it involves giving the inner child the consistent validation, recognition, and safety they lacked in childhood. This process helps address the unmet needs of the younger self and reduces the internal conflict and confusion that drive disorganized behaviors in relationships.
Talking points: attachment, mindset, psychology
Diving into the deep end for 2025, team. The disorganized attachment style is complex, hard to manage, and my heart goes out to anyone who struggles with this. But over the years of training and study, and working with clients with disorganized attachment, I've found some things that help. Here's your primer, team.
(00:00:00) - Why disorganized attachment is so challenging, what makes it different, and the biggest origin points
(00:09:26) - Digging deeper: how does disorganized attachment get formed?
(00:19:47) - Signs of disorganized attachment as an adult
(00:32:05) - How do you heal this?
(00:43:16) - On the importance of working with your nervous system, and one final piece of advice
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