While many of us have experienced profound loss or trauma in some way such as through divorce, a narcissistic “discard,” or the loss of a friendship, not everyone who experiences these losses will develop a fear of abandonment. However, many do, which increases their risk of desperately trying to re-establish a bond with the person or trying to prevent further losses in their life.

Abandonment takes two main forms: emotional and physical. For example, a primary caregiver may physically abandon a child due to divorce, or death. Or, emotional abandonment may occur as a result of abuse where a person may repeatedly feel unseen, unheard, or unwanted.

While abandonment fears are not a stand-alone psychological diagnosis, deep-seated fears of abandonment are commonly associated with attachment insecurities and significant emotional trauma. Similarly, fears of abandonment are specific to some mental health disorders including borderline personality disorder (BPD), which helps to discriminate it from other Cluster B personality disorders.

Common signs of a fear of abandonment include:

While most information talks about a fear of abandonment as being associated with a romantic relationship, there are other ways these fears may surface. Here are five unexpected ways that abandonment wounds may affect a person’s relationships.

This is commonly seen in new friendships and new romantic relationships, which often start out with high intensity, and move very fast by quickly “attaching” to the other person as a means of........

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