From the perspective of attachment theory, we need to be connected to people to survive, so our nervous system equates emotional connection with safety and emotional disconnection with danger or threat. Attachment-related threats include the potential loss of our attachment figure, separation from our attachment figure or loss of access to them for periods of time longer than we are used to. These threats don’t have to be actual to activate the attachment system—even theoretical or symbolic threats can initiate attachment distress and what is called primal panic.
