The Science Behind Unhealthy Attractions
I first stumbled over the work of Ken Page whilst listening to one of my favorite personal development podcasts. Having found myself caught up in unavailable, unfulfilling, and self-deprecating relationships time after time, Ken’s work opened my eyes to where I had been going wrong.
Our relationships are built on attractions. We meet someone new, we sense a feeling, and we decide if we’d like to pursue it, or not. This makes the nature of the attraction a key contributor to the makeup of the resulting relationship.
Like a loaf of bread crammed full of sugar and one with very little, differences in baking ingredients result in significantly different health implications in the finished product. Am I going to feel lethargic and tired by the time my sugar levels fall, or will I be fine?
Bread metaphors aside, bringing awareness to our attractions is a must if we’re in habit of choosing the wrong people and enduring the same old toxic relationships.
Ken Page differentiates healthy and unhealthy relationships by two varying attractions; attractions of inspiration, and attractions of deprivation. Understanding the concept and science behind the latter is key to breaking our bad habit of pursuing unhealthy relationships.
