In today's Ask Steph episode, I'm answering a listener's question about feeling like she's fallen behind in life after going through a break-up in her mid-30s, particularly as most of her friends are partnered and having kids. I talk about the very real experience of the "biological clock" factor, and how to acknowledge the disappointments and unexpected turns while also embracing the season you're in.

Links

Subscribe to my Substack: https://stephanierigg.substack.com/

Free resources for anxious attachment: stephanierigg.com/free-resources

Follow me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stephanie__rigg

Subscribe on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmxC4jls4uolRKhFWV_RIoA/

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How do our attachment patterns influence our relationship to — and experience of — sex and intimacy? That's what we're exploring in today's podcast deep dive.

We'll cover how each attachment style relates to sex, common sensitivities and pain points, and what the sexual relationship looks like over the life cycle of the relationship. We'll also touch on common sexual struggles in anxious-avoidant dynamics specifically.

Links

• Free training on anxious attachment
• Free resources for attachment healing

Subscribe to my YouTube channel

Is it possible to become anxiously attached as a result of dating someone with avoidant patterns? That's the listener question I'm answering in today's Ask Steph episode. We'll talk about how our patterns can arise in response to someone else's, while also acknowledging fundamental differences in how people with secure vs. insecure attachment styles tend to respond to dysfunctional behaviour.

Links

• Free training for anxious attachment
• Follow me on Instagram
• Take my attachment styles quiz

Subscribe to my YouTube Channel

Does your partner get defensive easily, even when you feel like you weren't being attacking or critical? If so, today's episode is for you. Being on the receiving end of someone's chronic defensiveness can be extremely frustrating and disheartening, and it can feel like a real block to connection.

But the way we typically respond — by making someone wrong for their defensiveness — can entrench the very pattern we're hoping to shift.

Links

• Free workshop on anxious-avoidant relationship dynamics
• Understanding Your Avoidant Partner course
• Secure Together couples course

Subscribe to my YouTube Channel

How do you navigate a situation where your partner isn't respecting the boundaries that you've set? That's the listener question I'm answering in today's Ask Steph episode.

Boundaries can be fraught for those of us with insecure attachment patterns, and it's easy to swing between demands and capitulation — neither of which are particularly helpful. We'll talk about how to reorient to what is within your control rather than making repeated pleas of someone else to change their behaviour to accommodate you, which is a recipe for frustration and resentment.

Links

• Free anxious attachment healing workshop
• Free resources for attachment healing
• Take my attachment quiz

Subscribe to my YouTube Channel

Today's episode is a follow-up from last week's deep dive into fearful avoidant attachment. This week, we're looking at the fearful avoidant in relationships — how these patterns play out, how that changes over the lifecycle of a relationship, and how it can differ based on the other person's attachment style.

Links

• Understanding Your Avoidant Partner Course
• Free resources for attachment healing
• Take my attachment style quiz

Subscribe to my YouTube Channel

In today's Ask Steph episode, we're talking about how to balance accepting your partner for who they are, while also encouraging them to grow. This is a delicate dance for many of us, and can reveal our own patterns of wanting to fix and save people. We'll talk about where the healthy middle lies between acceptance and change, and how you can create a relational environment that supports growth.

Links

• Free resources for attachment healing
• Take my attachment styles quiz

Subscribe to my YouTube Channel

In today's episode, we're diving deep into the fearful avoidant (or disorganised) attachment style. We're talking about where it originates, and what some of the core belief systems are that drive fearful avoidant patterns.

Make sure you're following or subscribed to the show to catch Part 2 next week, where we explore how the fearful avoidant attachment style shows up in relationships.

Links

• Check out my free attachment healing resources
• Take my attachment quiz

Subscribe to my YouTube Channel

What's the difference between reasonable, healthy privacy and unhealthy secret-keeping? That's the question I'm answering in today's Ask Steph episode. We're diving into the difference between privacy and secrecy, as well as on how this interfaces with the anxious need for information and the avoidant need for autonomy.

Resources

Free resources for anxious attachment

Take my attachment quiz

Follow me on Instagram

Subscribe to my YouTube Channel

In today's episode, we're diving deep into perfectionism — and how it can sneak into our relationship dynamics in unhelpful ways. We'll talk about how perfectionism shows up for anxiously attached people, how that differs from folks with avoidant patterns, and what it looks like to release the grip of perfectionism and find greater compassion and acceptance — for ourselves, our partners, and our relationships.

Links

Free resources for anxious attachment

Follow me on Instagram