Understanding Your Attachment Style: The Path to Overcoming Unhealthy Patterns and Building Healthy, Secure Relationships

Therapist Cameron debuts with perceptive guide to forging stronger relationships. Attachment styles—the ways people in relationships relate to each other emotionally—are unconsciously programmed in childhood, Cameron explains, as the relationship with one’s primary caregivers forms a template for future bonds. For example, kids who lack “experiences of comfort and consistency from a parent” often develop a “learned insecurity” that makes it harder to maintain stable bonds rooted in trust. Readers can rewire their attachment styles by becoming aware of unhealthy coping strategies, learning to identify their emotions, and more intentionally managing them. Cameron details five insecure attachment types (avoiders, pleasers, vacillators, controllers, and victims) and how each can create healthier patterns; for instance, avoiders can overcome their tendency to evade conflict by staying with uncomfortable emotions for an extended period of time, better understanding how their tendency to avoid developed, and accepting support from others. Combining rigorous psychological analysis with practical tools, Cameron constructs a valuable program wherein readers can acknowledge their developmental harms without being defined by them. Readers looking to improve their relationships with themselves and others will find plenty of insight. (Dec.)