For example, no matter how hard your partner tries, you may feel like they don’t give you enough compliments, spend enough time with you, or tell you they love you often enough. No matter how much affection you receive, it doesn’t seem to be enough. You need constant reminders that you’re loved: Seeking reassurance is another sign that you developed anxious attachment in your childhood.For example, you may constantly check on your partner and suspect them of cheating even though there’s no reason for it. These feelings could make you jealous, possessive, and clingy in your romantic relationships. You’re overly needy in relationships: You may be scared of being ignored or abandoned because that’s the kind of experience you’ve had with your father.This is why they may tend to be more agreeable and pliable, doing everything they can do to keep their partner by their side. As children, they didn’t establish a strong connection with one of their parents, so they’re anxious about affection being withheld from them. You’re a people pleaser: People with childhood wounds often struggle with deep-seated insecurity.You may prefer them to younger men because of their experience, financial success, and stable lifestyle. You fall in love with much older men: If you didn’t have a loving, trustworthy father figure growing up, you may feel like older men provide the protection and security you crave.Someone who could be considered to have ‘daddy issues’ may exhibit certain behavioral patterns, such as: Alternatively, you may have grown up idealizing your father because you were his favorite, so you unconsciously replicate a kind of father-daughter dynamic in your romantic relationships. You may then seek the affection of a father-type figure who will protect you like a parent would. This could create an anxious attachment style, where the person is insecure and fears abandonment. While the term isn’t typically used by professionals, it has a lot to do with the concept of attachment styles, which psychologists use to explain a person’s early connection to their parents and its effects on their adult lives.įor example, your father may have been distant, not providing the necessary emotional support and nurturing, or he may have been absent altogether.

It implies that she has trouble establishing healthy, secure connections with men because of her dysfunctional bond to her father. People generally use the phrase ‘daddy issues’ to talk about a woman who has an unhealthy relationship to father figures in her life.

Daddy issues