Unhealthy Relationships and Attachment Issues

Why do people who are being abused or mistreated by their partners stay in the relationship?

There are a zillion reasons why people stay in unhealthy relationships, ranging from threats by the abuser to lack of financial or emotional resources. Sometimes additional factors keep people from leaving. Love. Attachment. Even a sense of responsibility or loyalty for their partner.

Trauma and Attachment

Traumatic attachment is complex and often does not make sense to outside observers. Frequently even the couple who is enmeshed in traumatic attachment feel confused and conflicted about it, often more than anyone else. With this type of bond, the maltreatment may be a familiar theme from childhood, reflecting early messages the mistreated person learned about their worth and value as a human.

Children who are raised in emotionally unhealthy environments of abuse, inconsistent care, neglect, or apathy frequently develop disordered attachment. Anxious and fearful-avoidant attachment styles reflect the insecurity of these early connections and tend to emerge in relationships throughout life. People whose childhood experiences taught them that they are not worthy of love, respect, and consistent care may not register some of the early warning signs or trust their instinct about a potential mate. It is also easy for someone with insecure attachment to be swept up in the charming behaviors of a narcissistic partner or taken in by the neediness of someone with anxious attachment. Every relationship has a unique story. The dynamics that keep people involved in an unhealthy relationship vary, but often it comes back to a cycle of disordered or traumatic attachment. Continue reading on my website:

https://livingwithfinesse.com/relationship-attachment-issues