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What is a Love Avoidant?

By Jim Hall, M.S., Love Addiction Specialist 



 

Love addicts and anxiously attached individuals are commonly form romantic relationships with one type of person -- a Avoidantly Attached or Love Avoidant (who also can be narcissistic). These partners have an insecure-aavoidant attachment style (avoidant), tend to be emotionally unavailable in relationships and distant form their partners when they come too close.


They have a great fear of intimacy, closeness, and vulnerability—and as a result, evade intimacy and closeness with romantic partners, at all costs. 


 

Intimacy and closeness to an avoidant is equal to being engulfed, controlled, and smothered.


Underneath their fear of intimacy is a resonant fear of abandonment and rejection.


The boundaries of an avoidant are as unhealthy as love addicts. But in contrast to a love addict's blurred or nonexistent boundaries, Love Avoidants boundaries tend to be rigid and closed off, or walled up.


 

They have a natural inclination to get nervous and fearful when others display any vulnerability and try to connect intimately.


When a relationship starts to feel too close, they progressively begin to distance themselves. 


 

Some have extended patterns of short-term relationships, jumping from one relationship to another. Others may stay in a relationship for the long haul— but is most often a relationship that lacks genuine connection and satisfaction.


Still, others, may avoid romantic and sexual relationships for long periods (years), and occasionally all their lives.


 

Though on the outside avoidants often exhibit a seemingly friendly and self-confident exterior, even at times appearing vulnerable—the reality is they fear being known and will let no one in.


A relationship partner may get occasional glimpses of their real self— just enough to get their hopes up— only to see them retreat behind their emotional walls.

 

Love Avoidant Signs and Characteristics
 

  • Strong fear of intimacy/closeness; vulnerability
  • Anxiety around expressing or sharing inner-reality (feelings, thoughts, needs and wants)
  • Looks down on partner and becomes more distant, the more he/she tries to connect
  • Lacks spontaneity
  • Resistance to risk-taking (status quo' in relationships)
  • Seeking intensity outside the relationship- to avoid connection inside a relationship.
  • A need to appear and behave emotionally independent and strong (vs embracing interdependence- healthy in relationships)
  • Views expressing feelings/vulnerability as a ‘weakness’ (which it is not)
  • Avoids intimacy by the use of distancing behaviors/tactics
  • A deep fear of being hurt/rejected/abandoned, “if another truly knows me”
  • Feeling guilty for not doing or being ‘enough’ in a relationship (but rarely will express it)
  • Difficulty being vulnerable enough to talk/resolve relationship conflicts

     

Love avoidants commonly enter relationships with insecurely attached love addicts
 

Love Avoidants are individuals love addicts love to “love’ and vice versa- at least at the beginning of the relationship, and vice-versa.


For a love addict, it can feel quite confusing or perhaps shocking to notice the contrast of their partner in the initial stages of a relationship in comparison to the later stages where they seemingly disappear emotionally.


 

Avoidants tend NOT to choose a relationship partner who is genuinely secure (with healthy self-worth and boundaries), but those who are insecure with core relational boundary and self-esteem issues-- it goes both ways. 


Both are insecurely attached, individuals. 
Avoidants usually start off relationships wanting to form an immediate attachment, idealizing the new person in their life (as the love addict does).


They usually move swiftly and with great intensity to win a person over through acts of seduction.


They tend to be charming, flattering, and attentive-- presenting a false image of themselves, causing a person who is a love addict to feel quite validated and “special."


They often give an appearance that they are emotionally available while appearing strong, secure, and stable; but later in a romantic relationship reveal the extent of their defensive walls through denying problems, frozen feelings, and emotional inaccessibility-- leaving their relationship partner quite confused as to why they are, more and more, emotionally turning their backs.


Any attempt of trying to get too close makes the avoidant feel as if they are suffocating and cause them to push their partner away. 


 

They often expect their partner to meet their needs and desires, but give little attention or focus of meeting important needs and desires of their partner-- for an avoidant to do so,  would reveal intimate contact and vulnerability (remember, this is their core fear).

 

Love Avoidant Evades Intimacy, Closeness, and Emotional Vulnerability


Because they fear intimacy and emotional connection, they create emotional walls by utilizing a number of distancing tactics or behavior's to elude intimate contact; such as stone-walling, passive-aggressiveness, gaslighting, and belittling.

 

When inevitable conflicts arise, instead of trying to negotiate or come to a resolution, they may blame or accuse their partner of being the whole problem; having no accountability; or unexpectedly become angry and accuse their partner of not doing enough or caring enough.


They may undermine or sabotage their partner’s attempts at making things better in the relationship.



Love Avoidance on a Spectrum

 

I have come to view Love Avoidance on a spectrum. Some have intimacy issues that are more severe, and some less so. 

 

There are those with avoidance issues who are at the lower end of the spectrum, where I believe it is possible to form a healthy and satisfying relationship IF both partners are willing to do some individual work on themselves and the relationship. 

 

Then there are those with avoidance issues who are on the mid to upper spectrum, where their defense's, their emotional walls, are so thick, that the possibility of forming a fulfilling love relationship is virtually an impossibility.

 

Some Love Avoidants Are Narcissistic

 

Avoidants are prone to narcissism. Most have some narcissistic traits that can show up in relationships, yet not all of them are full-blown narcissists. 

 

Nonetheless, Love Avoidants who are near, or on the higher Avoidance Spectrum are more often than not, narcissistic individuals, and/or may actually qualify as having out-and-out Narcissistic Personality Disorder (NPD). 
 

 

Example Of Narcissistic Traits You Might Recognize In A Love Avoidant Partner


•    Lack of empathy.
•    High sense of entitlement.
•    View self as “better than”/stronger/superior to others. 
•    Sensitive to differing views expressed- often becomes defensive or attacks others.
•    Strong desire for others to look up to them/put on a pedestal.


•    Needs constant recognition, admiration, attention- but only on a superficial level.
•    Inflate talents, achievements, or responsibilities in order to appear important/above others.
•    Expect others (a partner) to anticipate their every need and become angry/ disappointed when needs/desires are not met-- resulting in devaluing another.


•    Expect you to read their mind, and when you don’t, it is proof that you just don’t care or love them enough.
•    Have difficulty taking responsibility – instead, they blame (you/others).
When arguments happen, they rarely admit defeat, since admitting their wrong to them is to be controlled and to look weak- in their dysfunctional eyes.

 


About Author: Jim Hall MS, is a Love Addiction Specialist, Online Relationship Coach, and Author of 3 Books on Love Addiction and Recovering. As a leading relationship expert, Jim gives hope to those struggling with love addiction and insecure attachment styles-  offering quality guidance towards a healthy path to break obsessive love patterns and healing from love withdrawal caused by a breakup. - more about Jim


Learn much more about Love Avoidance -- how these partners core issues sabotage relational intimacy, why they are the way they are in relationships, how relationships with them play out,  and much more-- order my book and read w/in minutes, The Love Addict in Love Addiction 



You might be interested in reading:
 

Top Six Signs of a Love Avoidant

 

Is Your Partner Love Avoidant?

 

12 Distancing Tactics Love Avoidants Use to Evade Intimacy

 

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