Post by justcheckin on Nov 3, 2019 2:57:52 GMT
You may also consider that attachment doesn't only come from parents. Style can be affected by any longer-term close adult when you're growing up, as well as dysfunctional romantic relationships later on.
My attachment issues weren't so much because of my parents, though my mom modeled some AP behavior with other family members so I didn't know that wasn't necessarily normal family dynamics for most people. But what really impacted me and caused my insecure attachment style wasn't my parents, who I've always been securely attached with (both in general and when I've taken assessments). Extended relatives etc. can also have a significant impact.
Why are you still attracted to relationships with insecurely attached people? Do you find them to still be more "interesting"? What do they provide you with or awaken in you that you don't feel in other relationships?
Is there anything in the narrative you tell yourself about your parents that steers your choice in partners? If you romanticize high school sweethearts, that can cause projections / unrealistic expectations / fantasies about the kind of romantic relationship you SHOULD have. One that starts intensely immediately and always stays that way, meant to be maybe. Alternatively, sometimes having that close knit of a family comes with weak boundaries that may make you mutually attracted to others with weak boundaries.
You are hitting things I would never consider.
I did not know boundaries in my early twenties, because I did not need those for/against my own family as they would never cross my boundaries. (YEEY I am lucky)
But I did learn about boundaries with my BPD and since then, I have been protecting them.
Why I am still attracted to relationships with insecurely attached people?
Very good question and the reason I am here.
First of all, I think you cannot discover attachment issues on a date while you are having coffee together. (Is there?)
In my experience you have to have a sexual relationship and give it some time before these issues even start to pop up.
Last year I had a conversation with a 60-something engineer/CEO (with 2 families) who I meet once in a while.
He said he only falls for "batshit crazy ladies", because "normal women" are not" intellectually stimulating" to him.
(He is married 15 years to an unmedicated schizophreniac, not just his story, I know his children too)
That rang a bell for me, although I don't agree with the way he describes women. (His parents were very abusive to say the least)
I find a lot of people boring, because I have a very high IQ myself.
It could be I am (subconsiously) attracted to unstable women too because they keep challenging me intellectually.
Food for thought.
I cannot think of anything from my parents to lead me on this (unchosen) path.
Maybe I think (subconsiously) loose boundaries means safety?