--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: In Separation (1973a), Bowlby puts…" description: "\"“In Separation (1973a), Bowlby puts forward a theory of agoraphobia based on the notion of anxious attachment. He sees agoraphobia, like school phobia,..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/094/jeremy-holmes-33792_agoraphobia_in-separation-1973a-bowlby-puts-forward_1008601.jpg" --- # In Separation (1973a), Bowlby puts forward a theory of… ![“In Separation (1973a), Bowlby puts forward a theory of agoraphobia based on the notion of anxious attachment. He sees agoraphobia, like school phobia, as an example of separation anxiety. He quotes evidence of the increased incidence of family discord in the childhoods of agoraphobics compared…” quote by Jeremy Holmes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/094/jeremy-holmes-33792_agoraphobia_in-separation-1973a-bowlby-puts-forward_1008601.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/094/jeremy-holmes-33792_agoraphobia_in-separation-1973a-bowlby-puts-forward_1008601.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/094/jeremy-holmes-33792_agoraphobia_in-separation-1973a-bowlby-puts-forward_1008601.jpg) > ““In Separation (1973a), Bowlby puts forward a theory of agoraphobia based on the notion of anxious attachment. He sees agoraphobia, like school phobia, as an example of separation anxiety. He quotes evidence of the increased incidence of family discord in the childhoods of agoraphobics compared with controls, and suggests three possible patterns of interaction underlying the illness: role reversal between child and parent, so that the potential agoraphobic is recruited to alleviate parental separation anxiety; fears in the patient that something dreadful may happen to her mother while they are separated (often encouraged by parental threats of suicide or abandonment); and fear that something dreadful might happen to herself when away from parental protection.”” [Jeremy Holmes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-holmes/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Bowlby links agoraphobia to anxious attachment, suggesting family dynamics and fear of abandonment drive the disorder. **In simple terms:** Anxious attachment can cause fear of being alone and lead to agoraphobia. Key Takeaway Address attachment issues to reduce anxiety. Themes psychology anxiety family dynamics attachment theory Mood concerned analytical Type clinical theoretical When to use this quote - therapeutic counseling - family therapy - patient education - support groups Key Concepts anxious attachment separation anxiety role reversal Questions to Reflect On - How do early family relationships shape adult fears? - What interventions best modify anxious attachment? A Different Perspective Attachment patterns are complex and may not fully explain all cases. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Agoraphobia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/agoraphobia/) [Anxiety](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anxiety/) [Divorce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/divorce/) [Fear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fear/) ## Related quotes > [“for to have a deep attachment for a person (or a place or thing) is to have taken them as the terminating object of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-bowlby/for-to-have-a-deep-attachment-for-a-person-or-a-place-or-thing-is-to/) [John Bowlby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-bowlby/) > [In a dog social cue from a master can override where he saw the being placed. That won’t happen unless we have bred a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/temple-grandin/in-a-dog-social-cue-from-a-master-can-override-where-he-saw-the-being/) [Temple Grandin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/temple-grandin/) > [I had huge separation anxiety as a kid.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-vargas/i-had-huge-separation-anxiety-as-a-kid/) [Elizabeth Vargas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-vargas/) > [Just as children, step by step, must separate from their parents, we will have to separate from them. And we will probably suffer...from some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-viorst/just-as-children-step-by-step-must-separate-from-their-parents-we/) [Judith Viorst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-viorst/) > [Separation anxiety is assuaged by constant connection. Young people announce every detail of their lives on services like Twitter not to show off, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaron-lanier/separation-anxiety-is-assuaged-by-constant-connection-young-people/) [Jaron Lanier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaron-lanier/) > [“Preventing Separation Anxiety We wish our dogs could be with us all day, every day, but it’s not possible, and puppies do need to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-albert/preventing-separation-anxiety-we-wish-our-dogs-could-be-with-us-all/) Terry Albert > [Go to parties. You can't even start to know what you may find on the envelope of serendipity. If you suffer from agoraphobia, send…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nassim-nicholas-taleb/go-to-parties-you-can-t-even-start-to-know-what-you-may-find-on-the/) [Nassim Nicholas Taleb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nassim-nicholas-taleb/) > [Writers tend to be addicted to houses ... We work at home, indulging the agoraphobia endemic to our kind. We are immersed in our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erica-jong/writers-tend-to-be-addicted-to-houses-we-work-at-home-indulging-the/) [Erica Jong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erica-jong/) > [Agoraphobia was my quirky armor against a gregarious America.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/florence-king/agoraphobia-was-my-quirky-armor-against-a-gregarious-america/) [Florence King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/florence-king/) > [What seems different in yourself; that's the rare thing you possess. The one thing that gives each of us his worth, and that's just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-gide/what-seems-different-in-yourself-that-s-the-rare-thing-you-possess/) [Andre Gide](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-gide/) > [“on the other hand, a neurotic fear, such as agoraphobia, cannot be cured by philosophical understanding. However, logotherapy has developed a special technique to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viktor-e-frankl/on-the-other-hand-a-neurotic-fear-such-as-agoraphobia-cannot-be-cured/) [Viktor E. Frankl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viktor-e-frankl/) > [Choosing to live in narrow spaces leads to form of mental agoraphobia and that brings its own terrors. I think the willfully unimaginative see…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-k-rowling-2/choosing-to-live-in-narrow-spaces-leads-to-form-of-mental-agoraphobia/) [J. K. Rowling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-k-rowling-2/) > [“Agoraphobia was now a survival trait.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-jay/agoraphobia-was-now-a-survival-trait/) Aaron Jay > [“For me, boviscopophobia (=the morbid fear of being seen as bovine) is an even stronger motive than semi-agoraphobia for staying on the ship when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/for-me-boviscopophobia-the-morbid-fear-of-being-seen-as-bovine-is-an/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I lay on my floor crying again¦ shaking. Searching for inner strength and coming up empty. My eyes burned and my mouth was dry…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathan-daniels/i-lay-on-my-floor-crying-again-shaking-searching-for-inner-strength/) Nathan Daniels ## More by Jeremy Holmes > [“To feel attached is to feel safe and secure. By contrast, an insecurely attached person may have a mixture of feelings towards their attachment…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-holmes/to-feel-attached-is-to-feel-safe-and-secure-by-contrast-an-insecurely/) [Jeremy Holmes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-holmes/) > [“Try to prise a limpet away from its rock and it will cling all the harder.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-holmes/try-to-prise-a-limpet-away-from-its-rock-and-it-will-cling-all-the/) [Jeremy Holmes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-holmes/) > [“A securely attached child will store an internal working model of a responsive, loving, reliable care-giver, and of a self that is worthy of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-holmes/a-securely-attached-child-will-store-an-internal-working-model-of-a/) [Jeremy Holmes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-holmes/) > [“The unconscious operation of the attachment system via internal working models probably plays an important part in the choice of marital partner and relationship…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-holmes/the-unconscious-operation-of-the-attachment-system-via-internal/) [Jeremy Holmes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-holmes/) > [“So it is with grief where, if all goes well, can come a strengthening of the inner world, of memory and definition.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-holmes/so-it-is-with-grief-where-if-all-goes-well-can-come-a-strengthening/) [Jeremy Holmes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-holmes/) > [“Bowlby's conviction that attachment needs continue throughout life and are not outgrown has important implications for psychotherapy. It means that the therapist inevitably becomes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-holmes/bowlby-s-conviction-that-attachment-needs-continue-throughout-life/) [Jeremy Holmes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-holmes/) > [“John Donne's 'A Valediction: forbidding mourning' concerns a sea voyage, and uses the image of a circle as an antidote to the abyss of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-holmes/john-donne-s-a-valediction-forbidding-mourning-concerns-a-sea-voyage/) [Jeremy Holmes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-holmes/) > [“A person's attachment status is a fundamental determinant of their relationships, and this is reflected in the way they feel about themselves and others.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-holmes/a-person-s-attachment-status-is-a-fundamental-determinant-of-their/) [Jeremy Holmes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-holmes/) > [“The patient brings with him into therapy all the failures and suspicions and losses he has experienced through his life. The defensive forms of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-holmes/the-patient-brings-with-him-into-therapy-all-the-failures-and/) [Jeremy Holmes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-holmes/) > [“Attachment exerted an invisible but powerful pull on the child, just as heavenly bodies are connected by gravitational forces. But unlike gravity, attachment makes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-holmes/attachment-exerted-an-invisible-but-powerful-pull-on-the-child-just/) [Jeremy Holmes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-holmes/) > [“The ambivalent strategy involves clinging to the care-giver, often with excessive submissiveness, or adopting a role-reversal in which the care-giver is cared for rather…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-holmes/the-ambivalent-strategy-involves-clinging-to-the-care-giver-often/) [Jeremy Holmes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-holmes/) > [“Bowlby uses the notion of faulty internal working models to describe different patterns of neurotic attachment. He sees the basic problem of 'anxious attachment"…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-holmes/bowlby-uses-the-notion-of-faulty-internal-working-models-to-describe/) [Jeremy Holmes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-holmes/) > [“Attachment is a unifying principle that reaches from the biological depths of our being to its furthest spiritual reaches.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-holmes/attachment-is-a-unifying-principle-that-reaches-from-the-biological/) [Jeremy Holmes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-holmes/) [Explore all 14 Jeremy Holmes quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-holmes/) ## More Agoraphobia quotes > [I lay on my floor crying again¦ shaking. Searching for inner strength and coming up empty. My eyes burned and my mouth was dry…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathan-daniels/i-lay-on-my-floor-crying-again-shaking-searching-for-inner-strength/) Nathan Daniels > [“For me, boviscopophobia (=the morbid fear of being seen as bovine) is an even stronger motive than semi-agoraphobia for staying on the ship when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/for-me-boviscopophobia-the-morbid-fear-of-being-seen-as-bovine-is-an/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Agoraphobia was now a survival trait.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-jay/agoraphobia-was-now-a-survival-trait/) Aaron Jay > [Choosing to live in narrow spaces leads to form of mental agoraphobia and that brings its own terrors. I think the willfully unimaginative see…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-k-rowling-2/choosing-to-live-in-narrow-spaces-leads-to-form-of-mental-agoraphobia/) [J. K. Rowling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-k-rowling-2/) > [“on the other hand, a neurotic fear, such as agoraphobia, cannot be cured by philosophical understanding. However, logotherapy has developed a special technique to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viktor-e-frankl/on-the-other-hand-a-neurotic-fear-such-as-agoraphobia-cannot-be-cured/) [Viktor E. Frankl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viktor-e-frankl/) > [What seems different in yourself; that's the rare thing you possess. The one thing that gives each of us his worth, and that's just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-gide/what-seems-different-in-yourself-that-s-the-rare-thing-you-possess/) [Andre Gide](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-gide/) > [Agoraphobia was my quirky armor against a gregarious America.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/florence-king/agoraphobia-was-my-quirky-armor-against-a-gregarious-america/) [Florence King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/florence-king/) > [Writers tend to be addicted to houses ... We work at home, indulging the agoraphobia endemic to our kind. We are immersed in our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erica-jong/writers-tend-to-be-addicted-to-houses-we-work-at-home-indulging-the/) [Erica Jong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erica-jong/) > [Go to parties. You can't even start to know what you may find on the envelope of serendipity. If you suffer from agoraphobia, send…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nassim-nicholas-taleb/go-to-parties-you-can-t-even-start-to-know-what-you-may-find-on-the/) [Nassim Nicholas Taleb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nassim-nicholas-taleb/) > [“Outside has everything. Whenever I think of a thing now like skis or fireworks or islands or elevators or yo-yos, I have to remember…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-donoghue/outside-has-everything-whenever-i-think-of-a-thing-now-like-skis-or/) [Emma Donoghue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-donoghue/) > [Those who choose not to empathize enable real monsters, for without ever committing an act of outright evil ourselves we collude with it through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-k-rowling-2/those-who-choose-not-to-empathize-enable-real-monsters-for-without/) [J. K. Rowling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-k-rowling-2/) > [“Being stress and anxiety free is a human preset, I just show you how to 'flick the switch' to off. Permanent stress and anxiety…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-linden/being-stress-and-anxiety-free-is-a-human-preset-i-just-show-you-how/) Charles Linden > [For me, boviscopophobia is an even stronger motive than semi-agoraphobia for staying on the ship when we're in port.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/for-me-boviscopophobia-is-an-even-stronger-motive-than-semi/) [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) > [“When I first read Lovecraft around 1971, and even more so when I began to read about his life, I immediately knew that I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-ligotti/when-i-first-read-lovecraft-around-1971-and-even-more-so-when-i-began/) [Thomas Ligotti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-ligotti/) > [I think the willfully unimaginative see more monsters. They are often more afraid.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-k-rowling-2/i-think-the-willfully-unimaginative-see-more-monsters-they-are-often/) [J. K. Rowling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-k-rowling-2/) [Browse all 18 Agoraphobia quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/agoraphobia/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“In Separation (1973a), Bowlby puts forward a theory of agoraphobia based on the notion of anxious attachment. He sees agoraphobia, like school phobia, as an example of separation anxiety. He quotes evidence of the increased incidence of family discord in the childhoods of agoraphobics compared with controls, and suggests three possible patterns of interaction underlying the illness: role reversal between child and parent, so that the potential agoraphobic is recruited to alleviate parental separation anxiety; fears in the patient that something dreadful may happen to her mother while they are separated (often encouraged by parental threats of suicide or abandonment); and fear that something dreadful might happen to herself when away from parental protection.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Jeremy Holmes" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-holmes/in-separation-1973a-bowlby-puts-forward-a-theory-of-agoraphobia-based/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Agoraphobia" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-holmes/in-separation-1973a-bowlby-puts-forward-a-theory-of-agoraphobia-based/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/094/jeremy-holmes-33792_agoraphobia_in-separation-1973a-bowlby-puts-forward_1008601.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/094/jeremy-holmes-33792_agoraphobia_in-separation-1973a-bowlby-puts-forward_1008601.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/094/jeremy-holmes-33792_agoraphobia_in-separation-1973a-bowlby-puts-forward_1008601.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“In Separation (1973a), Bowlby puts forward a theory of agoraphobia based on the notion of anxious…” — Jeremy Holmes", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Jeremy Holmes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-holmes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“In Separation (1973a), Bowlby puts forward...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-holmes/in-separation-1973a-bowlby-puts-forward-a-theory-of-agoraphobia-based/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-holmes/in-separation-1973a-bowlby-puts-forward-a-theory-of-agoraphobia-based/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```