Based on previous experiences that correspond to an individual’s overall attachment style, research has found that some resulting attachment styles have a higher need for medical attention throughout their lives than others. Based on coping mechanisms and attachment styles that have developed from interpersonal experiences, some individuals have experienced more detrimental effects to their mental health, which then corresponds to physical health.
Honestly, I think that this is so highly correlated with the amount of satisfaction and healthiness that we see in our relationships. Relationships, especially intimate ones, can have drastic effects on our day-to-day lives. This includes our mental health and physical health, so having an attachment style in which you are unable to develop healthy relationships can be very straining on multiple aspects of life. Insecure attachment styles have been found to correspond to higher levels of physical symptoms and more symptom reporting than those with secure attachments For the sake of this blog post, I interviewed a friend of mine, Hunter, who has also struggled with attachment style. I asked him specifically how this affected his medical needs and this is what he had to say:
“I have an anxious attachment style, and I have found that I go to the doctor pretty frequently. I have several medical issues that impact my life but don’t have an official diagnosis as to why I experience them. These include migraines, stomach pain, and regularly having nights where I am throwing up but am not ‘sick’. I don’t know if this has any correlation to my attachment style or if my body is just weird, but I do go pretty frequently.”
As Hunter’s story suggests, studies have found that individuals with insecure attachment styles are more likely to have a need for medical attention more regularly. Individuals with anxious attachment styles have been seen to have more medical visits than those with any other attachment style.
I have personally experienced these effects through my romantic relationships. I struggle with having a more anxious/insecure attachment style due to past trauma, and it can be really difficult at times to talk with my partner and not internalize many of the things that may ‘trigger’ my trauma responses.
As we have talked about in this blog, there are a lot of ways to increase attachment security in relationships and improve health. I found that going to therapy and talking with a professional regarding the problems I have had has made my health significantly better. This reduces the strain that is placed on an individual and can create healthier coping mechanisms, improving the result that this has on physical health because of the correlation it has to mental health. The ties that mental and physical health have together are ones that should be known and acknowledged by everyone. Hunter said something in our interview that also related to this concept,
“I know that mental symptoms can begin to manifest and present as physical symptoms within my life, and I often wonder if that’s where some of my symptoms come from. I have noticed when I am in a better place mentally, I don’t experience them as frequently.”
It can be really difficult to work through the problems that arise in disordered attachment styles but there is still hope! Having a solid support system and knowing the resources that are available to you plays a large part in this. At the end of the day, recognize your needs and understand what you can do to meet them in the most effective way possible.
3. Cienchanowski, P., Walker, E., Katon, W., & Russo, J. (2002). Attachment Theory: A Model for Health Care Utilization and Somatization. Psychosomatic Medicine. Volume 64, Issue 2, p. 660-667.
Hey Emily, I really enjoyed reading your post regarding attachment styles and medical needs. I feel like there is a correlation because mental and physical health overall. The reason why I believe so is because it is a system that is working together to be the person you are. So, it is obvious that one thing can impact the other. Such as an example, when individuals feel depressed or anxious our body will react to those with a response of having no energy, throwing up, fainting, stomach pain. Therefore, our attachment styles is a part of that because within our attachment styles there are behavior we do as a result of the factors that make us have those attachment styles. From also being a person with insecure attachment, I have personally felt times where my body started to reach certain ways when I was not “sick”. Also, I really enjoyed how you mention that seeking professional help has its benefits. I feel like a lot of people feel shame when thinking about seeking help, but in reality, it makes you more aware of solutions that can actually help you in the long run.
ReplyDeleteHi Emily! I enjoyed reading your blog post regarding attachment style and how it relates to medical needs. I have always been an anxious person and I have personally experienced how that can lead to more doctors’ visits because not only are you hyper aware of things going on within your body, but sometimes when you’re so anxious you can cause unnecessary stress on your body. I’m glad you have seen the benefits of therapy and seen how it has positively benefited your relationships because it has helped your attachment security. Until reading these posts, I was unaware of the widespread affect that attachment security or issues can have on so many aspects of our lives! Thanks for sharing about this!
ReplyDeleteI found it very interesting that one of the people interviewed, Hunter, noted that he has an anxious attachment style and visits the doctor frequently. I have noticed this very often in not only my friends, but the people around me as well. Those who are more anxious, or have a more anxious attachment style, tend to worry and stress a lot more. A few friends of mine who identify with this attachment style often look up symptoms of what they are experiencing on the internet.This usually results in another period of anxiety, as the internet search diagnoses something significantly worse than what is happening.
ReplyDeleteHi Emily, this was such an interesting blog post about attachment style and medical needs. I am interested in working in healthcare and in hospitals, so this opened my eye into a new view. I have grown up with parents in the medical field, so I never felt anxious getting medical care or visiting the doctor. I thought it was really interesting to get a in depth insight on a different attachment style than what I have and understand some of the anxious triggers individuals’ mays experience when seeking and receiving medical attention! Again, this was a great post. Thank you for sharing!
ReplyDeleteThis post was a very informative post because I did not know the magnitude of how much attachment and medical needs were related. Reading the portion of the article about how their can be a relationship between having an anxious attachment style and feeling anxious about your medical needs is something that I have never considered. I think that this relationship makes so much sense. I feel like personally, I do not freak out about medical issues often but also, I do not feel that I have an anxious attachment. This post was very interesting to read and was written great!
ReplyDeleteHi Emily!
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed this post! This concept is something I have not thought about before but it makes a lot of sense. Like you mentioned, mental health can manifest into physical health so I understand how having an anxious attachment style can make one go to the doctor more. I am currently studying to be a nurse so this information will be very useful to me! I also wonder if having anxious attachment style might make someone more of a hypochondriac and see a doctor for something that is more minor than someone who has secure attachment. This post was so interesting and I am happy you shared this!
Hi Emily!—Thank you for sharing how physical and mental health are related to attachment style. I found it interesting to learn how an individuals attachment style can have drastic impacts on their health and result in poorer health outcomes overall. I personally feel that I have a more anxious attachment style and also have had more medical challenges and random illness symptoms throughout my life. Historically, I have assumed that these symptoms are most likely related to my anxiety, but had not considered how this was actually just an attachment style influence. Also, I really enjoyed hearing Hunter’s story and how he feels his attachment style is related to his physical and mental health as this isn’t something that people talk about often.
ReplyDeleteHello Emily thank you so much for sharing! I think this topic is extremely important however also extremely under shared and not well known to everyone. The relationship between ones mental and physical health is so strong it can sometimes be mistaken for other factors. In the example of depression or anxiety, some physical symptoms that can occur is fatigue, lack of effort/wanting to do certain things, feeling achy, stomach aches and so much more. I also really enjoyed how you added in the part of how professional help can be beneficial because it really can be and it should not have the negative stigma it currently has.
ReplyDeleteHey Emily, I really enjoyed reading your blog post. I have never really thought about how your attachment style can have physical implications and cause you to have a more negative state of health. Reading Hunter's responses to your questions made me sad, because I'm sure he is not alone in struggling with these issues. It is interesting to hear that people with anxious attachment styles have the most frequent doctor visits compared to individuals with any other kind of attachment style. It makes sense though, since stress in the body can really take a toll on you. Thank you for sharing!
ReplyDeleteHello Emily, thank you so much for sharing how mental and physical health can be related to attachment style. This topic does not get covered as much as it should be. I can see this example in myself because when I got diagnosed with cancer in 2018, I was able to see how my attachment style became more severe. When I feel sick, I get incredibly anxious and think that I could be getting cancer again or get severely ill again. There are instances where I get so anxious that I dream about getting diagnosed with cancer, which are vivid dreams. When I go to any doctor's appointment, I get incredibly anxious and uncomfortable. Thank you for sharing about Hunters and your story.
ReplyDeleteThis blog post was very interesting to read! As many studies have shown, stress can significantly impact one’s overall health. Anxious attachment styles may inherently cause someone to experience more stress regarding their relationships, which could affect their overall health. As someone who experiences significant decreases in overall health correlating to an increase in stress, I can absolutely see the validity in this observation. Stress can impact the functionality of your body, specifically your digestive system. In addition, it can affect your sleep, cognitive function, and dietary habits. I enjoyed reading this post and reflecting on how my attachment style may contribute to my stress levels and overall health.
ReplyDeleteHi Emily,
ReplyDeleteWow I am just learning so much about myself from these posts! Reading this post made me realize that because I am someone with an anxious attachment style it also causes anxiety in the relationship that I have with my doctors. When I have something that is wrong, I always know it but because I am more anxious about going in and being told that I am “fine” or that “nothing is wrong” than actually dealing with whatever it is that I am experiencing. I experience the same sort of thing that Hunter does/did. I am constantly in pain or having issues that I know for a fact is impacting my life but there is never anything that they can diagnose me with other than just having different experiences than other people usually do. Hearing this makes me more anxious and even less likely to go to a doctor because I am never able to get my problems that I am having solved and am just being told that “everything looks normal” even if it doesn’t feel normal. The thought that this might correspond to my attachment style though raises a thought that maybe if I were to work on that my other problems that I experience wouldn’t be so severe. Even though I have seen theripists and while it is always great to talk to someone and get your feelings out that hasn’t helped my physical symptoms at all. Due to the effects that stress has on your body, I understand that having a more anxious or insecure attachment style could effect these things! Thanks for your post it gave me a ton to think about and look into further.
Hi Emily,
ReplyDeleteThis is an extremely interesting concept as my partner has an anxious attachment style and deals with many undiagnosed health problems. I never thought it could be due to past trauma or stress in relationships but now this is definitely something I am going to be mindful of. He has gone to many doctors and they say that nothing is wrong just like Hunter in your story. When he is happy and not stressed there are definitely less serious health problems he experiences. This is wild to think about how much mind effects body and overall health. This is an important topic that should be brought to more peoples attention as it seems to happen quite often.
Two sentences that really struck me from this blog were, “Relationships, especially intimate ones, can have drastic effects on our day-to-day lives. This includes our mental health and physical health, so having an attachment style in which you are unable to develop healthy relationships can be very straining on multiple aspects of life.” I remember during my freshman year in college, I had this one girlfriend and my mental and physical health shot straight down during this relationship. I went into the relationship with an anxious attachment style and she made it very hard on me for multiple different reasons throughout the whole relationship. My mental health got to the point where I could not even get myself out of my bed. The whole relationship was so mentally exhausting and my attachment style played a big part in that. So, I am not surprised that my attachment style can affect my own personal health.
ReplyDeleteHi Emily, I really liked reading your post. I thought it was very informative and was a unique topic that we had not covered in class yet. I like your post because I think it raises awareness for a topic that is not very well known or talked about. Reading this post reminded me of my roommate. She has an anxious attachment style and has IBS (Irritable Bowl Syndrome) as a result. Whenever she is stressed out, she gets very sick. Sometimes, when she has a bad fight with her boyfriend or is worried about something, she gets very sick. As a result of this, she needs to be careful and manage her stress. She and her partner work on talking through problems so she does not stress as much and will not get sick.
ReplyDeleteHi Emily, your post was exciting to see what our attachment styles do and can affect our overall health. I, too, have a more anxious attachment style, but I have never noticed whether or not it has affected my overall health. Now that I know that it could, it might be able to help me understand my own body. As for your friend, it was sad to hear that people with similar attachment styles do have health problems due to their attachment styles. I think that it is essential for anyone who has this attachment style due to their past to seek help, whether it's professional or not, because it's a way to let your body heal. Overall I enjoyed your blog post.
ReplyDeleteHi Emily! This is a take on attachment styles that I have never heard of or even really thought of. It is totally interesting and informative! I can absolutely see how people with anxious attachment styles may need more medical attention throughout life as I, myself have been a culprit of that. I'm not sure about my other peers who may have anxious attachment but I think that it is important to understand because it could be from unhealed trauma or something that is going on mentally but manifesting physically. Understanding this could give people peace of mind if they are having health issues and not being able to figure out what is wrong.
ReplyDeleteI had never thought about the connection between attachment style and medical needs. I have an insecure attachment style and a large number of physical and mental health issues. I have visited my doctors more often than other members of my family, and I have required extensive amounts of mental health treatment through out my life. Even when my physical symptoms don't warrant a visit to the doctor, I often find myself feeling physically ill. I have never been diagnosed with anything that can explain why I have so many physical ailments. Which can often be frustrating, but when applying the lens of the brain's impact on physical health things become a little clearer. I have often noticed that my physical symptoms align with destress within my relationships.
ReplyDeleteHi! I appreciated your analysis of this important and infrequently discussed topic. I had, previously, not considered people with anxious attachment styles suffering from related medical conditions. This led me to think about my own family and friends and how their medical conditions such as Irritable Bowl Syndrome, Crones, and other related conditions may be impacted by attachment. The mind has a significant impact on one’s physical health as considerations such as stress levels and anxiety have an impact on other bodily systems. Personally, I have noticed physical symptoms when experiencing stress in a relationship, or a more anxious attachment style.
ReplyDeleteThis is a very interesting blog post. I hadn't thought of the way that your medical needs may influence your attachment style. As someone who is fortunate enough to not have persisting medical needs, I had never considered this as a means for forming an attachment style. The interview that you presented was very insightful and gave me a new perspective on this idea. I would be interested to see if the type of medical need influenced one’s attachment style. It seems to me that this topic is not discussed often but maybe something that should be brought to light.
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing such an insightful exploration of the impact of attachment styles on our overall well-being. It’s fascinating to see how new research continues to shed light on the profound role that our early relationships play in shaping our mental and physical health throughout life. Your discussion about the connection between insecure attachment styles and the increased need for medical attention is particularly striking.
ReplyDeleteHunter's experiences highlight a critical point: the way our emotional and relational struggles can manifest as physical symptoms. This interplay between mental and physical health underscores the importance of addressing attachment styles not just in therapeutic settings, but also in our daily lives. It’s encouraging to know that strategies exist to foster attachment security, and your personal journey with therapy illustrates the positive effects these interventions can have.
As we continue to understand the nuances of attachment theory, it becomes clearer how vital it is for individuals to cultivate healthy relationships. The correlation between mental health and relationship satisfaction is an area that deserves more attention, and I’m excited to see what future research will reveal about how we can better support ourselves and others in this regard. Thank you for sharing this valuable perspective!
This post is really interesting about the connection between attachment styles and health. It’s crazy how much our mental state can show up in physical ways—like Hunter’s experience with migraines and stomach issues tied to his anxiety. It just goes to show that our minds and bodies are far more connected than we may think, especially when attachment issues or past trauma are involved. It’s also great to see how therapy and support systems can help here. Learning to manage attachment insecurities can take a load off mentally and physically, which is encouraging. It’s all about recognizing what you need and getting the right help to keep yourself balanced and healthy in both areas!
ReplyDelete