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LESSON 2 · Why You Are the Way You Are

Avoidant Attachment

About 20% of adults have an avoidant attachment style. They value independence over closeness and feel uncomfortable when a relationship gets too intimate. To protect themselves, they suppress emotional needs and keep their distance.

As adults, avoidantly attached people pull back during conflict, downplay their feelings, and treat needing someone as a weakness. The distance feels like safety, even when it leaves them lonely.