Summer is the perfect time to reflect on your dating patterns and set intentions for healthier relationships. Understanding why you’re drawn to certain types of people, recognizing repeating cycles, and learning your attachment style can help you make conscious choices and create more fulfilling connections. Take a moment to notice your patterns this season and start building relationships that truly align with your needs.

Attachment styles shape how we relate to others and are formed early in life based on the strength of our bond with a caregiver, which can create either a secure or insecure sense of safety. Secure attachment is associated with trust, connection, and relationship success, while insecure attachment often leads to fear, communication difficulties, and challenges in forming and maintaining relationships.

Mothers are often our first point of connection in the world, forming early emotional and physical attachments in many different types of mother–child relationships. These early interactions with primary caregivers strongly shape how we view ourselves, others, and the world around us.

I want to invite you to think of these few words and notice what emotions come up for you: rent, groceries, gas, inflation, bills. What did you notice? Did you feel your heart quicken, or that sensation of wanting to distance yourself from what these words represent for you?