Intimacy Disorders and Recovery

An Obstacle to Loving Fully

An intimacy disorder blocks an individual from the capacity to fully love. Typically, it is an automatic protective system that develops in childhood to adapt to neglect, abuse, or smothering. The individual fears both abandonment and or engulfment and maintains distance by choosing destructive partnerships, by attempting to control the partner, or  by avoiding closeness.

Some individuals suffer from narcissistic self-involvement, which then becomes pre-occupied with the partner with massive anxiety, and the result is often destructive. The outcome is, frequently, repeated unhappy relationships, loneliness, or living alone.

Our approach to intimacy disorders and their recovery is to focus on repairing the attachment system so the individual develops a secure attachment to self and then to others. Often this includes establishing cohesive narratives about one’s life and then working to build the capacity to develop self-compassion.


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1 Comment

  1. HOW CAN YOU REPAIR A MARRIAGE WITH SO MUCH BETRAYL, SELFISHNESS, ANGER, AND IMATURITY CAUSING THE WIFE TO BE FILLED WITH UTTER RESISTMENT AND DISQUEST?

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