Is it possible that attachment issues can have a significant impact on the development of disease?
A new study, published in Health Psychology, took a look at adult attachment and it’s link to health conditions.
Lachlan McWilliams, PhD of Acadia University in Nova Scotia, department of psychology, studied 5,645 adults between the ages of 18 and 60. Participants were asked to fill out a survey that identified their attachment style as secure, avoidant or anxious. It also asked them about chronic diseases and psychological disorders.
Interestingly, researchers found that each type of attachment correlated with a different set of health issues.
Avoidant attachment was associated with pain, such as re-occurring headaches, and anxious attachment was associated with stroke, myocardial infraction, hypertension, heart attack, etc.
While have to remember that correlation is not the same as causation, these findings are intriguing.
According to McWilliams people who feel insecure in relationships might be at a higher risk for heart problems later in life.
To look into this further we talked with Allan Schore PhD who has also done extensive work with attachment. As you will see in this very short video there is a strong connection between our early relationships and our vulnerability to trauma later in life.
If this topic is interesting to you, you may want to participate in our Treating Trauma Master Series.
Share your experiences below.
I also suffer from panic attacks(but not when driving) If your panic attacks are situational,(driving,etc) and you know that driving will bring on the panic attack, I highly recommend you to not stop taking your medicine if you plan on driving.. There is no way around it…I have tried to make sure I don’t get myself into the situations for me that bring on a panic attack.. People don’t understand how absolutely frightening,and scary it is to have a panic attack and how horribly out of control it makes someone feel.. If you ever want to talk about it please feel free to email me( I don’t know too many people myself that I can talk to about this)
Ruth,
As a person driven to understand my personal Major Depression for the last 27 of my 67 years I have been very encouraged by the speakers in your recent series on Trauma. Your last blog in regards to your concerns about the diagnosis of ADHD and PTSD, for me, lifts out the whole range of anxiety problems I work daily to manage constructively. I’m not at all sure of where I would fit into the spectrums of mental illnesses (or perhaps undiagnosed, but mild, PTSD) as I have been able to put on the “face of good coping” and live a quality life. However, beneath the surface, I know that I have a significant “nerve-anxiety” challenge to live with that is something other than the classic descriptions of “depression”. My journey of healing has taken many paths, but the most helpful has been understanding how the “trauma’s” of my parents contributed to the way I learned to “think” and “cope” about and with life. Their fears became mine, as did their many good qualities, so I firmly believe that somehow the whole family system needs attention to fully understand the wider range of issues a client is experiencing.
Your series has affirmed several hunches that I have had along the way but had no proof to back me up. I thank God daily for the technology emerging so keep up the good work! I shudder to think where I’d be without antidepressants, but tre4ating mental illness is a lot more than that.
Thank you to all involved!
Orla Nelson
I do believe that having a broken heart can lead to cardiovascular problems especially if not mended soon, i will never forget when i got the news my mother had been knocked down luckily she was ok but had bad injuries later that day you would have thought I was taking a heart attack pains across my chest and i could hardly breathe but thankfully with me being an energy healer i knew it was all emotional and i worked on myself and felt better soon!