7 Signs of an Emotionally Available Person

Who you want to date. Who you want to be.

Karen Nimmo
Published in
4 min readJun 10, 2021

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Photo by Alex Geerts on Unsplash

Are you emotionally available to others?

Most of us like to think we are — at least on a good day — but it’s not that easy to be that way consistently.

Some people find it extremely tough to connect deeply. It’s not their fault — unless they’ve made an active choice to shun emotional ties. Our genetics, early environments, life experiences and the feedback we get from the world all play a role in how we connect with others.

But for those who can form secure emotional connections — and have healthy relationships as a result — life is a little sweeter. A lot sweeter, actually.

Here’s why.

What’s Emotional Availability?

Emotional availability (EA) is the ability not just to make an emotional connection with another person — but to sustain it.

Most people can connect on a superficial level. But to be truly open, all the time — and make it last — is hard. And scary. Most of us tread carefully, we don’t rush in to risk being hurt.

For people who’ve been through trauma, are painfully shy or neurodivergent, trying to make deep connections with partners and friends can be a struggle — if…

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Karen Nimmo

Clinical psychologist, author of 4 books. Editor of On the Couch: Practical psychology for health and happiness. karen@onthecouch.co.nz