Our 7 Basic Attachments

The following list is suggestive of our most important needs as individuals. Use it as a check list to see if your life is reasonably balanced and complete. You may get some ideas for self improvement, or you may simply enjoy the realization that things are actually going pretty well for you!

Food, oxygen, and the other physical supplies necessary for life

A strong sense of personal identity

At least one other person in a close, mutually supportive relationship

At least one group that accepts us as a member

One or more roles in which we feel self-respect and which we can perform with dignity

Financial and material security

A comprehensive system of meaning or set of values (including a wholesome spirituality)

From Hansell, N. (1976). The person in distress. New York: Human Sciences Press.

David C. Bissette, Psy.D. Alexandria, VA 703-705-6161