Avoidant attachment is a behavioral style where individuals maintain a degree of emotional distance because they are hoping to preserve their independence. This pattern is a coping mechanism that’s born out of a fundamental fear of being emotionally manipulated or depended upon.
Psychologically people with avoidant attachment styles tend to equate emotional closeness and intimacy with a loss of personal autonomy. And so they wind up steering clear of situations that could stimulate these deeply ingrained fears of being smothered or controlled or subsumed.