100 episodes
- Start Your 7-Day Free Trial and Get Our Skyrocket Your Self-Esteem Course Free for Life.
https://offer.personaldevelopmentschool.com/self-esteem?utm_source=podcast&utm_campaign=self-esteem&utm_medium=organic&utm_content=pod-11-11-26&el=podcast
A Dismissive Avoidant may look unbothered by rejection—but their silence doesn’t always tell you how much they’re hurting. What happens when someone they’ve finally learned to trust walks away?
In this episode, Thais Gibson explores three forms of rejection that can feel especially painful for a Dismissive Avoidant, from criticism to having their vulnerability dismissed. She also explains why losing an established relationship can bring grief that isn’t immediately visible.
Through the lens of Integrated Attachment Theory™, you’ll learn how core wounds around shame, defectiveness, and perceived weakness can influence emotional withdrawal—and why building a healthier relationship with yourself matters.
In this episode, you’ll learn:
• Why a Dismissive Avoidant can feel rejected even when they appear calm.
• How criticism can reinforce the belief that they are fundamentally flawed.
• Why opening up and feeling dismissed can lead to renewed emotional walls.
• How losing a trusted relationship can bring delayed grief.
• Why understanding these patterns can help you look beyond surface behavior.
Timestamps:
00:00 The rejection a Dismissive Avoidant may hide
00:33 Social rejection and emotional pain
01:54 Free self-esteem course with a 7-day trial
02:37 Why criticism can hurt so deeply
04:06 The core wound of feeling defective or shameful
05:17 When criticism feels like a character judgment
06:39 When vulnerability is rejected
07:53 Losing someone they’ve learned to trust
09:25 Delayed grief after a breakup
10:14 Closing thoughts
Meet Thais
Thais Gibson, PhD, is a Best-Selling Author, Pastoral Counselor, Relationship Coach, and the founder of The Personal Development School (PDS). Between 2013 and 2019, she developed Integrated Attachment Theory® (IAT), the Six-Step Method to Becoming Secure, a framework rooted in neuroscience, attachment theory, psychology, and spirituality, trademarked in October 2021. IAT works across six pillars:
✔ Rewire Your Attachment Core Wounds
✔ Learn Your Attachment Needs
✔ Regulate Your Nervous System Somatically
✔ Learn Healthy Boundaries
✔ Improve Communication
✔ Rewire Your Unhealthy Protest Behaviors
Since opening in 2020, PDS has grown to serve over 70,000 students in 145 countries, achieving a 97% satisfaction rate and helping people reprogram their subconscious patterns and build thriving, secure relationships.
Helpful Resources:
🧠 Take the Free Attachment Style Quiz
https://attachment.personaldevelopmentschool.com/?utm_source=podcast&utm_campaign=attachment-quiz&utm_medium=organic&el=podcast
📘 Become an IAT Relationship Coach
https://attachment.personaldevelopmentschool.com/iat?utm_source=podcast&utm_campaign=iat&utm_medium=organic&el=podcast
📚 Read the New Attachment Theory Book
https://attachment.personaldevelopmentschool.com/book/the-new-attachment-theory?utm_source=podcast&utm_campaign=the-new-attachment-theory&utm_medium=organic&el=podcast
🎧 Discover Podcast Episodes
https://attachment.personaldevelopmentschool.com/podcast?utm_source=podcast&utm_campaign=podcast-page&utm_medium=organic&el=podcast
📝 Read the PDS Blog
https://blog.personaldevelopmentschool.com/
Let’s Connect on Socials:
📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thepersonaldevelopmentschool/
📘 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ThePersonalDevelopmentSchool
🎵 TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thaisgibson
💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/thepersonaldevelopmentschool/ - Start Your 7-Day Free Trial and Get Our Skyrocket Your Self-Esteem Course Free for Life.
https://offer.personaldevelopmentschool.com/self-esteem?utm_source=podcast&utm_campaign=self-esteem&utm_medium=organic&utm_term=VIDEOID&utm_content=yt-MM-DD-YY&el=podcast
They hurt you—and then carry on like nothing happened. When a Dismissive Avoidant doesn’t acknowledge your feelings, you may find yourself wondering whether they understand the impact or even care.
In this episode, Thais Gibson breaks down three reasons a Dismissive Avoidant may respond this way, including differences in emotional needs, avoidance of conflict, and difficulty taking accountability. She explains how these patterns can leave Anxious and Fearful Avoidant partners feeling unheard—and shares practical ways to communicate hurt, ask for reassurance, and set boundaries.
Understanding their behavior is only part of the picture. Your feelings deserve space, and repairing a relationship requires both people to participate.
In this video, you’ll learn:
• Why a Dismissive Avoidant may not recognize that their behavior hurt you.
• How conflict avoidance can leave difficult conversations unresolved.
• Why accountability matters for a secure relationship.
• How Anxious Attachment can lead to self-silencing and increased reassurance-seeking.
• How to make your needs clear with specific, practical requests.
• A somatic processing exercise for Fearful Avoidant emotional reactions.
• Why repeated dismissal of your needs calls for boundaries.
Timestamps:
00:00 Why a Dismissive Avoidant acts like nothing happened
00:59 Different sensitivities to words and actions
02:30 Conflict avoidance and emotional shutdown
03:56 Difficulty taking accountability
05:18 Anxious Attachment: the cost of self-silencing
06:16 How to communicate hurt and ask for reassurance
07:16 Make your needs specific
07:53 When your needs are repeatedly dismissed
08:11 Free self-esteem course with a 7-day trial
09:03 Fearful Avoidant reactions to feeling hurt
09:57 Introduction to somatic processing
11:49 Noticing emotions and physical sensations
12:59 Regulate before communicating your needs
13:15 A practical emotional processing exercise
14:21 Express your hurt and what you need going forward
14:45 Closing thoughts
Meet Thais
Thais Gibson, PhD, is a Best-Selling Author, Pastoral Counselor, Relationship Coach, and the founder of The Personal Development School (PDS). Between 2013 and 2019, she developed Integrated Attachment Theory® (IAT), the Six-Step Method to Becoming Secure, a framework rooted in neuroscience, attachment theory, psychology, and spirituality, trademarked in October 2021. IAT works across six pillars:
✔ Rewire Your Attachment Core Wounds
✔ Learn Your Attachment Needs
✔ Regulate Your Nervous System Somatically
✔ Learn Healthy Boundaries
✔ Improve Communication
✔ Rewire Your Unhealthy Protest Behaviors
Since opening in 2020, PDS has grown to serve over 70,000 students in 145 countries, achieving a 97% satisfaction rate and helping people reprogram their subconscious patterns and build thriving, secure relationships.
Helpful Resources:
🧠 Take the Free Attachment Style Quiz
https://attachment.personaldevelopmentschool.com/?utm_source=podcast&utm_campaign=attachment-quiz&utm_medium=organic&el=podcast
📘 Become an IAT Relationship Coach
https://attachment.personaldevelopmentschool.com/iat?utm_source=podcast&utm_campaign=iat&utm_medium=organic&el=podcast
📚 Read the New Attachment Theory Book
https://attachment.personaldevelopmentschool.com/book/the-new-attachment-theory?utm_source=podcast&utm_campaign=the-new-attachment-theory&utm_medium=organic&el=podcast
🎧 Discover Podcast Episodes
https://attachment.personaldevelopmentschool.com/podcast?utm_source=podcast&utm_campaign=podcast-page&utm_medium=organic&el=podcast
📝 Read the PDS Blog
https://blog.personaldevelopmentschool.com/
Let’s Connect on Socials:
📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thepersonaldevelopmentschool/
📘 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ThePersonalDevelopmentSchool
🎵 TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thaisgibson
💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/thepersonaldevelopmentschool/ - Free Live Masterclass: Why Your Avoidant Partner Pulls Away and What Actually Brings Them Back.
https://attachment.personaldevelopmentschool.com/masterclass/da/join?utm_source=podcast&utm_campaign=da-masterclass&utm_medium=organic&utm_content=pod-11-06-26&el=podcast
Do you feel like the more you give, the less your Avoidant partner sees your worth? When you’re constantly trying to earn their love, it’s easy to lose touch with your own needs.
In this episode, Thais Gibson explores what can shift a Dismissive Avoidant relationship dynamic when you stop overgiving, communicate your standards, and become more comfortable letting go. She explains how fears of unworthiness, rejection, and abandonment can keep you stuck in people-pleasing—and shares a practical exercise to help you start changing those patterns.
Recognizing your own worth means honoring your needs, maintaining your boundaries, and seeing whether your partner is willing to meet you in building a healthier relationship.
In this video, you’ll learn:
• Why being at peace with space can shift the pursuit-and-withdrawal cycle.
• What self-respect looks like when communicating with a Dismissive Avoidant.
• How self-abandonment can show up through overgiving and self-silencing.
• Why core wounds can make expressing your needs feel risky.
• A two-column exercise to help replace patterns that reinforce unworthiness.
• How to strengthen your sense of self beyond a partner’s validation.
Timestamps:
00:00 When a Dismissive Avoidant recognizes your worth
00:41 Being at peace with letting go
02:11 Self-respect, boundaries, and clear communication
03:21 Stop self-abandoning in relationships
04:19 Identify your needs, standards, and non-negotiables
05:35 What are your core wounds costing you?
06:23 An exercise to change self-abandonment patterns
07:12 Strengthen your sense of self
08:49 Personal Development School membership overview
09:43 Closing thoughts
Meet Thais
Thais Gibson, PhD, is a Best-Selling Author, Pastoral Counselor, Relationship Coach, and the founder of The Personal Development School (PDS). Between 2013 and 2019, she developed Integrated Attachment Theory® (IAT), the Six-Step Method to Becoming Secure, a framework rooted in neuroscience, attachment theory, psychology, and spirituality, trademarked in October 2021. IAT works across six pillars:
✔ Rewire Your Attachment Core Wounds
✔ Learn Your Attachment Needs
✔ Regulate Your Nervous System Somatically
✔ Learn Healthy Boundaries
✔ Improve Communication
✔ Rewire Your Unhealthy Protest Behaviors
Since opening in 2020, PDS has grown to serve over 70,000 students in 145 countries, achieving a 97% satisfaction rate and helping people reprogram their subconscious patterns and build thriving, secure relationships.
Helpful Resources:
🧠 Take the Free Attachment Style Quiz
https://attachment.personaldevelopmentschool.com/?utm_source=podcast&utm_campaign=attachment-quiz&utm_medium=organic&el=podcast
📘 Become an IAT Relationship Coach
https://attachment.personaldevelopmentschool.com/iat?utm_source=podcast&utm_campaign=iat&utm_medium=organic&el=podcast
📚 Read the New Attachment Theory Book
https://attachment.personaldevelopmentschool.com/book/the-new-attachment-theory?utm_source=podcast&utm_campaign=the-new-attachment-theory&utm_medium=organic&el=podcast
🎧 Discover Podcast Episodes
https://attachment.personaldevelopmentschool.com/podcast?utm_source=podcast&utm_campaign=podcast-page&utm_medium=organic&el=podcast
📝 Read the PDS Blog
https://blog.personaldevelopmentschool.com/
Let’s Connect on Socials:
📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thepersonaldevelopmentschool/
📘 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ThePersonalDevelopmentSchool
🎵 TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thaisgibson
💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/thepersonaldevelopmentschool/ - Master Healthy Relationships, Communication & Emotional Connection With Thais Gibson. Start Here: https://attachment.personaldevelopmentschool.com/dream-life-pillars-course?utm_source=podcast&utm_campaign=/dream-life-pillars-course&utm_medium=organic&utm_content=pod-11-04-26&el=podcast
Have you ever felt blindsided when a Fearful Avoidant suddenly ended a relationship?
Everything seemed fine on the surface. They were present, caring, and invested... until one day they weren't.
The reality is that these breakups are often preceded by subtle signs that something has been building beneath the surface for a long time.
Episode Summary
In this episode, Thais Gibson explains what many Fearful Avoidant Attachment Styles are thinking before they leave a relationship and the warning signs that often appear beforehand.
You'll learn why Fearful Avoidants tend to be people-pleasers, how childhood experiences can make them suppress their needs and boundaries, and why unspoken frustrations often accumulate over time. Thais explores how their fear of vulnerability, difficulty communicating needs, and tendency to become hyper-independent can create relationship dynamics that feel overwhelming or unsustainable.
She also shares five key signs that a Fearful Avoidant may be preparing to leave, including emotional shutdown, fear around broken trust, reduced presence, lack of vulnerability, and growing resentment. Most importantly, she explains how healthy communication and secure relationship skills can help prevent these patterns from taking hold.
Key Takeaways
✔️ Fearful Avoidants often suppress needs to maintain harmony
✔️ People-pleasing can lead to resentment and emotional exhaustion
✔️ Uncommunicated needs often create relationship instability
✔️ Emotional shutdown is a common warning sign
✔️ Broken trust can activate deep attachment wounds
✔️ Vulnerability is essential for lasting connection
✔️ Healthy communication helps prevent sudden relationship exits
Timestamps
00:00 – What Fearful Avoidants Think Before Leaving
00:31 – Fearful Avoidants Tend to Be People Pleasers
02:41 – Their Failure to Communicate Needs Leads Them to Leave Chaotic Relationships
04:19 – Sign 1: The Fearful Avoidant Suddenly Starts Shutting Down
05:24 – Sign 2: They Talk About Feeling Afraid When Trust is Being Broken
05:41 – Sign 3: They Become Less Present
05:58 – The Key Pillars to Create a Secure Relationship Course Promo
06:17 – Sign 4: They Aren’t Being Vulnerable
07:20 – Sign 5: They're Constantly Feeling Frustrated, Triggered, or Resentful
Meet Thais
Thais Gibson, PhD, is a Best-Selling Author, Pastoral Counselor, Relationship Coach, and the founder of The Personal Development School (PDS). Between 2013 and 2019, she developed Integrated Attachment Theory® (IAT), the Six-Step Method to Becoming Secure, a framework rooted in neuroscience, attachment theory, psychology, and spirituality, trademarked in October 2021. IAT works across six pillars:
✔ Rewire Your Attachment Core Wounds
✔ Learn Your Attachment Needs
✔ Regulate Your Nervous System Somatically
✔ Learn Healthy Boundaries
✔ Improve Communication
✔ Rewire Your Unhealthy Protest Behaviors
Since opening in 2020, PDS has grown to serve over 70,000 students in 145 countries, achieving a 97% satisfaction rate and helping people reprogram their subconscious patterns and build thriving, secure relationships.
Helpful Resources:
🧠 Take the Free Attachment Style Quiz
https://attachment.personaldevelopmentschool.com/?utm_source=podcast&utm_campaign=attachment-quiz&utm_medium=organic&el=podcast
📘 Become an IAT Relationship Coach
https://attachment.personaldevelopmentschool.com/iat?utm_source=podcast&utm_campaign=iat&utm_medium=organic&el=podcast
📚 Read the New Attachment Theory Book
https://attachment.personaldevelopmentschool.com/book/the-new-attachment-theory?utm_source=podcast&utm_campaign=the-new-attachment-theory&utm_medium=organic&el=podcast
🎧 Discover Podcast Episodes
https://attachment.personaldevelopmentschool.com/podcast?utm_source=podcast&utm_campaign=podcast-page&utm_medium=organic&el=podcast
📝 Read the PDS Blog
https://blog.personaldevelopmentschool.com/
Let’s Connect on Socials:
📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thepersonaldevelopmentschool/
📘 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ThePersonalDevelopmentSchool
🎵 TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thaisgibson
💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/thepersonaldevelopmentschool/ - Access Our Conflict Resolution Blueprint Course Mentioned in This Episode, With a Trial to the Personal Development School: https://attachment.personaldevelopmentschool.com/dream-life?utm_source=youtube&utm_campaign=7-day-trial&utm_medium=organic&utm_term=l32QSobcyUY&utm_content=yt-10-31-26&el=youtube
Do disagreements make you question the entire relationship, even when you care deeply about your partner?
In this honest conversation, Thais Gibson sits down with Violet Benson, creator of Daddy Issues, to explore Fearful Avoidant attachment, the urge to leave during conflict, and learning to feel safe in a healthier relationship.
Violet opens up about romanticizing partners after a breakup, holding back reassurance, and wanting closeness while instinctively pushing it away. Together, they explore how understanding each other’s needs and repairing after disagreements can help break the cycle.
In This Episode, You’ll Learn:
• How childhood experiences can shape your response to conflict
• Why you might miss someone more after leaving them
• How Fearful Avoidant and Anxious Attachment patterns can interact
• What the urge to pull away may reveal about your unmet needs
• How empathy, transparency, and reassurance support conflict resolution
• Why ongoing repair helps relationships grow closer over time
Timestamps:
00:00 Loving Deeply, Then Shutting Down
01:47 Meet Violet Benson
02:31 The Story Behind Daddy Issues
09:09 Childhood Beliefs About Love and Conflict
14:01 Exploring Anxious and Fearful Avoidant Patterns
20:42 Breakups, Shutdown, and Grieving
23:30 Romanticizing Someone After Leaving
34:14 The Urge to Pull Away During Conflict
48:05 Understanding Your Needs During Disagreements
58:05 Uncertainty, Distance, and Reassurance
01:08:24 How Repair Builds Lasting Connection
01:18:02 Initiating Connection and Showing Appreciation
01:21:21 Understanding Each Other’s Relationship Needs
01:29:00 Identifying Both Partners’ Needs During Conflict
01:34:53 Practical Takeaways to Try Together
01:36:50 Where to Find Violet
01:37:36 Choosing Yourself and Practicing Vulnerability
Find Violet Benson:
Instagram: @violetbenson
Podcast: @daddyissues_
Meet Thais
Thais Gibson, PhD, is a Best-Selling Author, Pastoral Counselor, Relationship Coach, and the founder of The Personal Development School (PDS). Between 2013 and 2019, she developed Integrated Attachment Theory® (IAT), the Six-Step Method to Becoming Secure, a framework rooted in neuroscience, attachment theory, psychology, and spirituality, trademarked in October 2021. IAT works across six pillars:
✔ Rewire Your Attachment Core Wounds
✔ Learn Your Attachment Needs
✔ Regulate Your Nervous System Somatically
✔ Learn Healthy Boundaries
✔ Improve Communication
✔ Rewire Your Unhealthy Protest Behaviors
Since opening in 2020, PDS has grown to serve over 70,000 students in 145 countries, achieving a 97% satisfaction rate and helping people reprogram their subconscious patterns and build thriving, secure relationships.
Helpful Resources:
🧠 Take the Free Attachment Style Quiz
https://attachment.personaldevelopmentschool.com/?utm_source=podcast&utm_campaign=attachment-quiz&utm_medium=organic&el=podcast
📘 Become an IAT Relationship Coach
https://attachment.personaldevelopmentschool.com/iat?utm_source=podcast&utm_campaign=iat&utm_medium=organic&el=podcast
📚 Read the New Attachment Theory Book
https://attachment.personaldevelopmentschool.com/book/the-new-attachment-theory?utm_source=podcast&utm_campaign=the-new-attachment-theory&utm_medium=organic&el=podcast
🎧 Discover Podcast Episodes
https://attachment.personaldevelopmentschool.com/podcast?utm_source=podcast&utm_campaign=podcast-page&utm_medium=organic&el=podcast
📝 Read the PDS Blog
https://blog.personaldevelopmentschool.com/
Let’s Connect on Socials:
📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thepersonaldevelopmentschool/
📘 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ThePersonalDevelopmentSchool
🎵 TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thaisgibson
💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/thepersonaldevelopmentschool/
More Education podcasts
Trending Education podcasts
About Breakthrough with Thais Gibson Podcast
Breakthrough with Thais Gibson is a podcast featuring live coaching and transformational conversations rooted in Integrated Attachment Theory. In each episode, Thais works directly with guests to uncover subconscious patterns, heal attachment wounds, and create meaningful emotional breakthroughs. Through vulnerable storytelling, practical tools, and deep emotional insight, listeners gain a powerful window into the healing process and learn how to build healthier relationships with themselves and others.
Podcast websiteListen to Breakthrough with Thais Gibson Podcast, The Rich Roll Podcast and many other podcasts from around the world with the radio.net app

Get the free radio.net app
- Stations and podcasts to bookmark
- Stream via Wi-Fi or Bluetooth
- Supports Carplay & Android Auto
- Many other app features





































