Trust
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Healing from Attachment Anxiety and Chronic Mistrust
Attachment anxiety often stems from a caregiver who finds the needs of a baby overwhelming. Contrary to popular wisdom, babies are extremely sensitive to their mothers’ responses. If Mama feels she can’t possibly fulfill the needs of her baby, the baby learns to become demanding. The more he or she cries, the more attention baby gets. But the emotional support is inadequate because just as mama is afraid she isn’t enough, the baby also internalizes that anxious message. The belief developed in infancy and carried on into adult relationships is I can’t get enough! Later, in adulthood, romantic relationships and friendships become unwitting repetitions of this unconscious sense of abandonment. …