What Is Anxious Attachment and How Can Therapy Help?

What Is Anxious Attachment and How Can Therapy Help?

If you find yourself overthinking texts, fearing abandonment, or needing constant reassurance in relationships, you might be experiencing anxious attachment. This common attachment style can feel exhausting, but with the right support, it’s absolutely possible to shift toward security and self-trust.

In this post, we’ll explore what anxious attachment looks like, how it affects relationships, and how therapy can help you move forward.

What Are the Signs of Anxious Attachment?

Anxious attachment often develops in response to inconsistent caregiving or emotional connection in childhood. As adults, this attachment style might show up as:

• Feeling worried you're “too much” or not enough

• Craving closeness but fearing rejection

• Constantly second-guessing texts, tone, or silence

• Struggling with self-worth when someone pulls away

• Needing frequent reassurance to feel okay

These experiences can feel confusing or even overwhelming, especially in romantic or close relationships. You may find yourself asking, “Why do I feel so triggered when someone takes space?” or “Why do I always worry they’ll leave me?”

How Anxious Attachment Affects Relationships

People with anxious attachment tend to love deeply and care intensely, but often through a lens of fear or insecurity. You might:

• Struggle to feel safe unless you’re in constant contact

• React strongly to small shifts in connection

• Prioritize others’ needs over your own to avoid conflict

• Feel anxious or panicked when someone is distant

• Try to “fix” or chase after someone who’s pulling away

This can create painful cycles in which your needs for connection are valid, but the strategies you use to get them met aren’t working.

Can Anxious Attachment Be Healed?

Yes. Anxious attachment is not a life sentence, and therapy can help you interrupt the patterns, rebuild your sense of safety, and create secure connections.

With the right support, you can:

• Learn how to self-soothe when triggered

• Build healthy emotional boundaries

• Develop trust in yourself and others

• Understand the roots of your attachment patterns

• Respond to stress without panic or reactivity

How Kristin Rice, DBH, Can Help

Kristin Rice, DBH, is a compassionate and experienced therapist who specializes in working with adults navigating anxiety, relationship challenges, and identity issues, including anxious attachment. She uses evidence-based approaches like CBT, mindfulness, and attachment-based therapy to help you make meaningful, sustainable change.

Her work particularly supports those navigating life transitions, perfectionism, or high emotional sensitivity in relationships. Kristin creates a warm, structured space where you can build resilience, gain insight, and find relief from the cycles of fear and self-doubt.

Ready to Shift from Anxiety to Security?

Kristin is currently accepting new clients for virtual therapy in Connecticut. Whether you’re navigating anxious attachment or seeking a more empowering therapy experience, she’s here to help.

Book a consultation today to start your journey toward secure attachment and greater emotional ease.