Do you often find yourself worrying that your partner might leave you, or do you fear abandonment even in a stable relationship? Maybe you experience frequent jealousy, feeling that no matter your efforts, you're just not good enough? Are you concerned about making even minor mistakes, fearing they could ruin everything? Does your relationship make you feel like you're constantly walking on eggshells? Individuals with an ambivalent attachment style typically hold others in high regard but suffer from low self-esteem. They are sensitive and attuned to their partners' needs, yet they are plagued by insecurities and anxieties about their own worth in the relationship. Adults with this attachment style usually seek constant reassurance of their value and loveability. Living with constant self-doubt and an obsessive desire for love can be draining, like being on an emotional roller coaster. In intimate relationships, adults with ambivalent attachment may try to become indispensable to their partners, believing that being needed will prevent abandonment. However, this strategy often leads to doubts about whether they are loved for who they are or merely for their utility. Anxiety about ruining potential relationships hinders commitment and can lead to isolation. While understandable, this self-protective behavior can prevent meaningful connections and a fulfilling life. This book is recommended if you recognize these patterns in your relationship, indicative of ambivalent attachment: - You often feel insecure about your partner's feelings towards you, leading to a constant need for validation and reassurance. - You experience intense fear of abandonment, even in situations where your relationship is stable. - Your need for emotional closeness feels overwhelming at times, and you might worry that your desire for intimacy pushes your partner away. - You find yourself oscillating between highs and lows in your relationship, with emotions ranging from deep affection to intense anxiety. - You are prone to feeling jealous, often stemming from your insecurities and fear of losing your partner. - You take on a disproportionate amount of responsibility and blame in your relationship, often feeling that any issues are solely your fault. - Your actions and reactions are often driven by the fear of being left alone, leading to behaviors that you might later regret. - You have a tendency to be over-attentive to your partner's moods and actions, interpreting them as signs of potential rejection or disinterest. - Despite your deep desire for a close relationship, you may unintentionally sabotage it due to your fears and insecurities. - You might find yourself in a cycle of needing reassurance, yet struggling to fully accept it when offered, as deep down, you fear it might not be genuine. If you feel in tune with this description of life, remember that it is not your fault and that because you have experienced bad situations in life, you have become sensitive and more compassionate than others. Can the ambivalent attachment style be changed? Fortunately, there are methods in this manual to identify and interrupt dysfunctional patterns and cultivate new ones that are helpful and tailored to you. It is important to do this for yourself, your loved ones and, eventually, your children. Stop that feeling of never being enough forever. Take action now.

This book draws together the diverse strands of attachment theory into a coherent contemporary account. It examines the links between attachment and other central life tasks such as work, and the issues of conceptualisation and measurement.

This book offers a thorough examination and discussion of the evidence on attachment, its influence on development, and attachment disorders. In Part One, the authors outline attachment theory, the influence of sensitive and insensitive caregiving and the applicability of attachment theory across cultures. Part Two presents the various instruments used to assess attachment and caregiving. Part Three outlines the influence of attachment security on the child's functioning. Part Four examines the poorly understood phenomenon of attachment disorder. Presenting the evidence of scientific research, the authors reveal how attachment disorders may be properly conceptualised. Referring to some of the wilder claims made about attachment disorder, they argue for a disciplined, scientific approach that is grounded in both attachment theory and the evidence base. The final part is an overview of evidence-based interventions designed to help individuals form secure attachments. Summarising the existing knowledge base in accessible language, this is a comprehensive reference book for professionals including social workers, psychologists, psychiatrists, teachers, lawyers and researchers. Foster and adoptive parents, indeed all parents, and students will also find it of interest.

Do you often find it challenging to maintain successful romantic relationships? Are you trapped in a cycle of repeating behavior patterns in your relationships, haunted by the fear of heartbreak? What if you could predict the probability of your relationship's success or failure beforehand? Relationships are complex. They are made up of emotions, dreams, and shared experiences. But they are also made up of subtle nuances and underlying currents that we may not notice. At the heart of every relationship is the attachment bond. This is the deep emotional connection that shapes how we love, trust, and connect with our partners. When the attachment bond is secure, it is a strong foundation for our relationships. It allows us to communicate openly, be emotionally intimate, and feel safe. But when insecurity creeps into the attachment bond, it can act like a silent intruder. It can weave its way into our relationships without us realizing it. Insecure attachment can be like a ghost from our past. It can influence our perceptions, reactions, and expectations in our relationships. It can stem from early childhood experiences, especially those involving our caregivers. Unresolved attachment issues can lie dormant for years. But they can resurface when we least expect them, causing misunderstandings and turmoil. Ignoring insecure attachment can be a mistake. If we are not aware of the invisible forces at play, we may misinterpret our partner's actions. We may react defensively or withdraw emotionally. Communication can break down, and trust can erode. But there is no need to lose hope. This resource explores how our childhood experiences shape the adults we become. Our early relationships with our primary caregivers teach us how to interact with the world and others. A strong bond with our caregivers is essential for healthy development. However, unresolved attachment issues can lead to relationship and self-image problems later in life. This book will help you identify your attachment style and give you practical tools to manage it effectively. By understanding your attachment style, you can learn how to manage your emotions and relationships in a healthy way. This will lead to a more positive and stable outlook on all your relationships. If you have insecure attachment, you know you need to change, but you may feel stuck. With compassionate self-awareness, you can explore your anxiety-perpetuating thoughts and habits without feeling overwhelmed or paralyzed. By understanding the psychological factors that underlie your attachment, you can learn to build secure, healthy relationships that last a lifetime. This book is recommended for people who are experiencing any of the following in their relationships: · Dissatisfaction and high conflict: Constant arguments, disagreements, and feelings of dissatisfaction within the relationship. · Obsessiveness, intrusiveness, and jealousy: Feeling possessive or overly controlling, constantly checking on your partner, and experiencing jealousy over minor interactions. · Mistrust and suspicion: A pervasive lack of trust in your partner's intentions and actions, assuming the worst without evidence. · Fear of rejection and abandonment: An intense fear of being rejected or left by your partner, leading to clingy or needy behavior. · Desire for fusion and fear of intimacy: Struggling to maintain personal boundaries and desiring excessive closeness, while simultaneously fearing true intimacy and vulnerability. · Emotional distance and avoidance: Withdrawing emotionally from your partner and avoiding deep emotional connections. · Low level of emotional involvement: Feeling emotionally detached or numb in the relationship, unable to fully engage or express feelings. · Intimacy issues and difficulty in sexual relationships: Struggling to connect intimately with your partner, which can manifest in physical and emotional intimacy challenges. · Constant need for reassurance: Frequently seeking reassurance from your partner about their feelings and commitment. · Emotional hypervigilance: Being overly alert to potential signs of trouble in the relationship, always on the lookout for signs of rejection or betrayal. The patterns and beliefs developed during childhood can be unlearned and replaced with positive approaches, paving the way for a constructive life journey. Understanding how to overcome attachment issues can be one of the most rewarding and transformative things you can do for yourself. If you are tired of complicated and painful relationships, this book will be a great help to you and your loved ones.

The selection of peer-reviewed chapters in this edition of Stress and Anxiety addresses three major areas of topical interest: Theory, practice and measurement. Authors ask ``What is the meaning of stress'' and offer a reconceptualization of the topic. They take us on a journey across decades of strategies we use to cope with stress. Recommendations for practice based on theory form a significant part of this edition. A focus on children and practice implications at home and in the school are presented. All papers presented in this volume are not only relevant to theory and understanding factors which influence behaviour but, most importantly, there are significant implications for practice and measurement.

The "Attachment Theory Workbook" is a comprehensive guide to understanding and applying attachment theory to various aspects of life. The book offers an in-depth exploration of attachment styles and how they impact our relationships, behaviors, and emotional well-being. It provides readers with practical tools and exercises to help them identify their own attachment style, work through attachment-related issues, and build more secure and satisfying relationships. The workbook format allows readers to engage actively with the material, reflect on their experiences, and develop a deeper understanding of themselves and their relationships. Overall, the "Attachment Theory Workbook" is an invaluable resource for anyone interested in improving their relationships and emotional health.

Loving and grieving are two sides of the same coin: we cannot have one without risking the other. Only by understanding the nature and pattern of loving can we begin to understand the problems of grieving. Conversely, the loss of a loved person can teach us much about the nature of love. Love and Loss, the result of a lifetime's work, has important implications for the study of attachment and bereavement. In this volume, Colin Murray Parkes reports his innovative research that enables us to bring together knowledge of childhood attachments and problems of bereavement, resulting in a new way of thinking about love, bereavement and other losses. Areas covered include: patterns of attachment and grief loss of a parent, child or spouse in adult life social isolation and support. The book concludes by looking at disorders of attachment and considering bereavement in terms of its implications on love, loss, and change in a wider context. Illuminating the structure and focus of thinking about love and loss, this book sheds light on a wide range of psychological issues. It will be essential reading for professionals working with bereavement, as well as graduate students of psychology, psychiatry, and sociology.

An easy, concise reference with inclusion of practical diagnostic and treatment information Also appropriate for use by parents as a bibliotherapeutic aid Contains quick reference section of the 20 most frequently seen behavioral problems and what actions to take Written by a leading Pediatric Psychologist for use by not only Child Psychologists but also Pediatricians and Family Physicians

This book examines family interactions and relationships during the transition to parenthood. It offers a unique integration of different lines of research on prenatal family dynamics contributed by leading family researchers in North America and Europe who use observational approaches to study emergent family processes. The book explores prenatal dynamics in diverse families, including adolescent couples, same-sex couples, couples experiencing infertility, and couples expecting their second child. The introduction, anchored in family systems and structural theories, provides an overview of challenges couples commonly experience during the transition to parenthood and details prenatal family processes that predict postpartum adjustment in families. This sets the stage for subsequent chapters by emphasizing unparalleled windows into prenatal family dynamics provided by direct observation. Initial chapters focus on predictors of prenatal interactions and partners’ representations of parenthood. Subsequent chapters describe original research on prebirth couple interactions and the coparenting relationship emerging during pregnancy. The volume includes several studies that rely on innovative research designs using observations of simulated couple encounters with their newborn, represented by a life-sized infant doll. The book concludes with a review of recent prenatal intervention programs designed to improve interpersonal and coparenting relationships of married and unmarried couples. The volume offers recommendations for future research on prenatal family dynamics, including suggestions for methodological advances, exploration of prenatal risk factors, expansion of conceptual models to incorporate culturally-meaningful coparents besides mothers and fathers, and further focus on prenatal intervention programs. This book is an essential resource for researchers, clinicians and professionals, and graduate students in the fields of infant mental health/early child development, family studies, pediatrics, developmental psychology, public health, social work, and early childhood education.

This two-volume set examines dreams and dreaming from a variety of angles—biological, psychological, and sociocultural—in order to provide readers with a holistic introduction to this fascinating subject. Whether good or bad and whether we remember them or not, each night every one of us dreams. But what biological or psychological function do dreams serve? What do these vivid images and strange storylines mean? How have psychologists, religions, and society at large interpreted dreams, and how can a closer examination of our dreams provide useful insights? Dreams: Understanding Biology, Psychology, and Culture presents a holistic view of dreams and the dreaming experience that answers these and many other questions. Divided thematically, this two-volume book examines the complex and often misunderstood subject of dreaming through a variety of lenses. This collection is written by a large and diverse team of experts and edited by leading members of the International Association for the Study of Dreams (IASD) but remains an approachable and accessible introduction to this captivating topic for all readers.