Reactive Attachment

Reactive Attachment Disorder (RAD) is a complex psychiatric disorder. A person with reactive attachment disorder is usually neglected, abused or orphaned. Reactive attachment disorder develops because the child's needs for comfort, affection and nurturing aren't met and loving attachments with others are never established. This may permanently change the child's growing brain, which hurts the ability to establish future relationships. RAD is a lifelong illness and affects every aspect in the person’s life. Reactive attachment disorder is a large controversy. Both its diagnosis and treatment are difficult. There are many common symptoms with a person diagnosed with Reactive Attachment Disorder. Some of the symptoms are, views relationships as threatening, or not worth the effort, not affectionate on parent's terms, resists comfort, no impulse controls, prone to depression, controlling and manipulative, poor peer relationships, low self esteem, may enter psychosis, sees others as being difficult to understand, unable to understand the concept of altruism and many other similar symptoms. As with the person’s symptoms there must be symptoms existing on the parent’s side too in order to create a complete diagnosis.

RAD affects every aspect of the person’s life. The person with RAD may not feel emotionally attached to anyone. The person may either completely shut themselves off from others or become quickly attached to someone. A person with RAD might push or pull someone in a relationship in order to be “in control.” A person with RAD does everything to “gain” something in the end. A person with RAD has little to no conscience with usually damages relationships in their life at one point or may set up failed relationships in their future. Reactive Attachment Disorder affects all social aspects of the person’s life and has little to no positive effects in their life.

Treatment of Reactive Attachment Disorder is a very tedious and difficult