The capacity for attachment

Clearly, this is a disordered and unhealthy state to develop in an infant's feelings of love. The basic trust which healthy infants normally develop in their mother seems to block in their mind. This kind of blockage in a child's mind can be extremely difficult to remedy. It can cause very serious problems for a child's emotional development. Troubling, but less serious blocking of attachment can be seen in children following much briefer separations than those leading to the fully developed state of detachment.

The lives of human beings revolve around intimate attachments with other human beings. It begins with our parents, and those few individuals who are consistently close to us. This capacity for attachment, developed in the earliest years of life continues through adolescence, maturity and into old age. From these intimate attachments, a person draws their strength and enjoyment of life.

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