Meredith’s Childhood Attachment Analyasis: September 27, 12

Parents are the people most babies come to know first. In the early months they are establishing the initial trust that will continue on for the rest of their lives.  If one were to go off of Erik Erikson’s theory, the first18 months are vital in creating a foundation for the building block’s of the rest of the child’s life. While watching Grey’s Anatomy the other day, I started thinking about what was Meredith Grey’s childhood like? Did she get the love and attention she needed in order to create a trust that would last the rest of her life?

At a young age Meredith’s father just left. Poof! He was out of her life, creating an estranged relationship that would last for years to come. So that solely left her mother, a woman who consistently placed a higher value on her job rather than that of her child. I imagine that Meredith was never able to get the time needed to establish that fundamental trust.

While watching the show it is obvious that Meredith struggles with trust in all of her relationships.  Her smart, strong, and independent character can not entirely disguise the pain and fright in her life. In class we talked about avoidant, secure, and ambivalent babies. Learning this caused me ponder how Meredith would score in the Strange Situation research procedure. I was in quite the toss up between avoidant and ambivalent. Both avoidant and ambivalent babies are caused because parent’s are unavailable, inconsistent or unpredictable. I believe that Meredith created her own coping mechanism and immobilized her attachment system. Her mother wasn’t there for her, and therefore Meredith excludes any thoughts or feelings that may activate the system. Time and time again, Meredith’s mother verabally abused and blamed her. She neglected the basic emotional needs of her daughter. Something clicked early on for Meredith, and she turned her emotions off so she would not feel unloved. She created her own her wall of self destructive protection, continuously holding on to the blame towards her mother.

Posted by Emily