Attachment Theory and Financial Anxiety: How Our Early Relationships Affect Our Money Worries
Do money worries keep you up at night? Your early relationships could be affecting your stress around money.
Attachment theory explains how our early relationship patterns with our primary caregivers can impact the way we connect with others as adults. Attachment theory can also help us better understand our relationship with money. Understanding our attachment style can also provide insight into our money worries and help us take steps towards greater financial security.
What Our Attachment Styles Indicate About Our Sense Of Financial Security
There are 4 primary attachment styles: secure, anxious, avoidant and disorganized. For people who are less familiar with attachment theory, taking a quiz can help get a sense of what your attachment style may be. A licensed individual therapist can also help you identify and understand your attachment style and how it may impact your life.
Knowing your attachment style can also help understand your relationship with money. Here is a brief example of what this might mean:
1. Secure attachment and financial well-being:
People with a secure attachment style tend to have greater financial well-being. They feel more in control of their finances and are less likely to experience financial stress and anxiety. Secure attachment patterns are characterized by trust, emotional stability, and a positive view of the self and others, leading to more proactive and effective financial behaviors.
2. Anxious attachment and financial anxiety:
People with an anxious attachment style are more prone to financial anxiety. Anxious attachment patterns are characterized by insecurity and fear of rejection, leading to a tendency to worry about money, fear financial loss, and be overly cautious or avoidant in financial decision-making. Anxiety can also lead to impulsive spending, exacerbating financial stress.
3. Avoidant attachment and financial avoidance:
People with an avoidant attachment style tend to avoid dealing with financial issues. Avoidant attachment patterns are characterized by emotional distance and self-reliance, leading to a tendency to procrastinate on financial decisions, resist seeking financial help, and avoid financial discussions. This can create financial stress and insecurity.
4. Disorganized attachment and financial chaos:
People with a disorganized attachment style tend to experience financial chaos. Disorganized attachment patterns are characterized by fear and confusion, leading to impulsive or erratic financial decisions, difficulty with budgeting and saving, and financial instability. Seeking financial help and establishing a sense of financial security can be challenging with disorganized attachment patterns.
How Do I Use Attachment Styles To Improve Financial Anxiety In New York?
Attachment theory provides a useful framework for understanding the link between our early relationship patterns and our current financial anxiety. Regardless of our attachment style, there are steps we can take to improve our financial well-being, such as seeking financial education and counseling, creating a budget, and communicating openly and honestly with our partners about money. By taking these steps, we can reduce financial stress and anxiety and build a stronger and more secure relationship with money.
Individual therapy for financial anxiety can offer added support when exploring how your attachment style can help with financial goals. Our clinicians can also help with anxiety, stress, and self worth.
Getting started with our New York City therapy practice is simple:
Meet with a skilled financial therapist
Begin feeling more grounded