Denial of one's need for others is the most common type of defense against bonding. If people come from a situation, whether growing up or later in life, where good, safe relationships were not available to them, they learn to deny that they even want them. Why want what you can't have? They slowly get rid of their awareness of the need.
Henry Cloud, Changes That Heal: How to Understand the Past to Ensure a Healthier Future
bonding, defense-mechanism, denial, emotional-needs, healthy-relationships, l, needs, self-awareness