Learn about how attachment is developed under age two and how it affects relationships.
Mental health is vital in your life, as it has a significant impact on your thoughts, emotions, and behavior. When your mental health is upheld, you will be more productive and effective in your day to day life. That said, you need to note that your childhood experiences play a significant role in your mental health as an adult. More so, the attachments you form as a child determine whether your relationships with romantic interests later on in later life; will be negative or positive. Most of these attachments are usually formed pretty early in life, and by age two, necessary attachments in an individual have already been created. Here are some examples of these early attachments and how they affect your relationships as adults.
1.Secure attachment
The first kind of attachment that you may have formed as a child is the secure attachment. A child who experiences secure attachment has confidence in their attachment figure; because they trust them to meet their needs. The child uses their attachment figure as their safe base when they desire to explore their surroundings. They also seek their parents or guardians whenever they are in distress. If you formed a secure attachment as a child, you are most likely responsive, available, and helpful in your romantic relationships.
2.Insecure avoidant attachment
The other kind of attachment a child may form is called the insecure-avoidant attachment. If you created this kind of attachment as a child, you did not orientate towards your childhood attachment figure. Subsequently, you did not depend on them to provide you with a soft landing whenever you experienced distress. An insecure-avoidant child is quite independent, both emotionally and physically, from their attachment figures. Most times, this happens if your caregivers were insensitive or indifferent to your needs. If this is the form of attachment you formed, you may feel unworthy and unacceptable as an adult in a relationship. On the flip side, you may be independent, meaning that you may still retain your identity even when in a relationship.
3. Insecure ambivalent child
As an insecure resistant child, you may have shown dependence and clinginess towards your attachment figure. However, when it came to interacting with this parent or guardian, you may have exhibited rejection. This may have been as a result of inconsistent response towards your needs from your caregiver. Subsequently, as an adult in a romantic relationship, you may exaggerate your response towards certain situations in your relationship to gain attention from your partner. You may also become a clingy partner.
Take away
These kinds of attachments may either impact your mental health and or relationships negatively or positively. However, Christian Neuroemotional Therapy can help to uphold your mental health and create healthy lasting relationships regardless of your childhood experiences.