A trauma bonding relationship is reflective of an attachment created by repeated physical or emotional trauma with intermittent positive reinforcement, according to licensed psychologist Liz Powell, PsyD . Put simply, in a relat...

Why it is so easy to become attached to anything that helps you get through a traumatic event: your brain associates that thing or person with safety. So, when an abusive person decides to comfort you or apologize—even for a trauma they, themselves, put you through—your brain latches on ...

While the presence of the above factors, whether in isolation or grouped together, doesn't automatically mean a relationship is bonded by trauma. It can “feel like pieces of you are being ripped out in hugely violent ways,” Dr. Powell says.

To mitigate this effect and h...

Trauma bonding isn't only happening in romantic relationships. You can see trauma bonding signs in dynamics that include fraternity hazing, military training, kidnapping, child abuse, political torture, cults, prisoners of war, or concentration camps, Dr. Powell says. “In cases o...