A vast majority of people in today's culture experience despair, loneliness, or other mental health issues. In contrast to anxiety disorders, which saw a rise from 298 million to 374 million cases globally, depressive symptoms rose from 193 million to 246 million. Despite accounting for COVID-19, this exponential rise suggests a worrisome downward trend in mental health. This article suggests a link between the three types of "attachment" styles that mature into adulthood and loneliness, even though there are several causes for this health catastrophe.

The psychological definition of attachment is a child’s lasting and strong bond to a primary caregiver at the beginning of their life. In other words, it can be simplified as the emotional connection between infants and parents. This fundamental attachment impacts the kind of attachment that one develops during adulthood which takes one of three major categories.

The first style is called secure attachment, where developing closeness and trust with others is comparatively simple in a secure relational environment. One who has a secure attachment is neither unduly close to others nor overly reliant on them. Individuals with stable relationships have secure attachment styles, which reduces their risk of experiencing mental anguish. 

The second style is known as avoidant attachment. In this state, people tend not to trust others, and feel fear and emotional agitation in forming a rapport with others. This type of attachment has relatively higher tendencies to lean towards Hikikomori and anthropophobia. 

The last category is anxious-ambivalent, in which a person wants an obsessively close relationship with others. However, the fear of being abandoned or unloved by others leads to high levels of anxiety. This also entails negative impacts on forming a sense of involvement or friendship and could further lead to copious mental issues. 

The last two categories are grouped as “insecure attachments”, which imply high levels of anxiety. Relationships in these categories require excessive love, recognition, and attention from others. Due to negative self-perceptions, they do not experience a sense of safety with internal resources and seek safety through recognition by others. In this sense, poor attachment during childhood could be a possible factor that explains high rates of anxiety and depression even throughout adulthood.

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