The Urge to Merge: Anxious Attachment in Dating with Jessica Baum
Mar 4, 2024
auto_awesome
In this podcast, Jessica Baum discusses Attachment Theory, the 'anxious avoidant dance,' and the impact of insecure attachments in dating apps. Explore how childhood experiences shape attachment styles, navigate the avoidant-anxious relationship dynamic, and learn about fostering genuine connections in the digital dating age.
Anxious attachment can stem from early experiences, leading to a yearning for love and validation in relationships.
Dating apps can amplify attachment issues, emphasizing the importance of pacing oneself, seeking support, and avoiding idealized fantasies.
Online dating can trigger feelings of rejection for anxiously attached individuals, emphasizing the need for external soothing and a healthier approach to interactions.
Deep dives
Understanding Attachment Styles and Relationships
Attachment styles play a crucial role in relationships. Anxious attachment, often stemming from early experiences, can lead to a longing for love and validation. Recognizing this pattern can help individuals navigate dating apps with more awareness, pacing themselves and seeking support when feeling anxious. Co-regulating with a friend can offer comfort and perspective, reducing the need for instant remedies.
Navigating Dating Apps with Anxious Attachment
Dating apps can intensify attachment dynamics, triggering anxious feelings or chase behaviors. Understanding that the dopamine chase in online interactions can cloud judgment can help individuals slow down their emotional responses, seek external support for self-soothing, and prevent idealized fantasies from taking over. Building relationships through a steadier pace and solid connections can lead to more sustainable and meaningful connections.
Challenges of Online Dating for Anxious Attachments
For individuals with anxious attachment, online dating can evoke feelings of rejection and inadequacy. Learning not to personalize rejections and seeking external soothing mechanisms are essential. By recognizing that dating apps offer a limited view of a person and don't always reflect personal worth, individuals can maintain a healthier approach to online interactions.
Building Sustainable Relationships
Creating a sustainable relationship involves slowing down, embracing vulnerability, and allowing space for growth. While initial attractions can be intense, the real work of a relationship involves consistent connections and mutual understanding. Recognizing that sustainable relationships may feel less dramatic but offer deeper intimacy and stability over time.
The Path to Healing and Healthy Connections
Healing attachment wounds and fostering healthy connections require self-awareness, compassion, and a willingness to sit with discomfort. Seeking support, practicing self-regulation, and addressing early attachment patterns can lead to more fulfilling and enduring relationships. Recognizing that sustainable love often involves navigating challenges together and fostering growth as individuals and partners.
This week we are back talking about one of our favorite topics with the help of fellow licensed mental health counselor, Jessica Baum. Jessica is the founder of The Relationship Institute of Palm Beach and her work is focused on developing a meaningful connection with oneself and in understanding our own core patterns so that we can better understand how we relate in our relationships. She recently came out with a new book Anxiously Attached to offer a roadmap to help you go from anxiously attached to building strong, secure relationships.
In this episode we hear Jessica's take on Attachment Theory, talk about the "anxious avoidant dance", and discuss how one's insecure attachment can be affected by using dating apps.