reckless literary handholding

I think Mulder is an interesting case study in one presentation of a disorganized attachment. If I had to guess based on his parents' behavior (particularly his mom's behavior), I would guess he was avoidant—kids with parents who are withdrawn or neglectful often develop avoidant attachments because it is safer to assume that no one is going to meet their needs. But knowing how Mulder is in the show, I don't think avoidant fits quite as well as anxious does, which is why I'd categorize his overall attachment patterns as disorganized.

Teena comes off as emotionally unavailable and shut down in her own life as well, which means Mulder couldn't trust her to be a secure base or safe haven from which he could learn to regulate. But we also see that she can be impulsive and somewhat explosive, such as when she slaps Mulder, which is why the anxious attachment behaviors make sense; anxiety lends itself to hyperawareness of other people's moods and feelings, and Mulder would have benefited from being able to anticipate his mom's reactions and paying close attention to what was left unspoken.

Temperament plays a part in attachment style as well, so while I hypothesize that Mulder is predisposed to an anxious attachment style, I think the anxious behaviors are tempered by his "proper" upbringing. Mulder's family gives off a very "children should be seen and not heard" impression. They care about the image they present to other families and their problems are private and should stay within the family. This type of environment doesn't tolerate emotion, so I think Mulder suppresses his emotions as much as he possibly can; it's not necessarily what he gravitates toward, but learning to be avoidant is almost a response to his anxiety, in a sense, because the anxiety about if he is loved leads to him trying to find a solution (the avoidant attachment behaviors).

The reason I think Mulder is more anxious than avoidant is because we see how deeply he feels throughout the series. Because of that, I think he spent most of his life receiving the message that the way he experiences things is inherently wrong. He may even feel like a failure whenever he experiences emotions because he's trying to fit what his family expects, which could play into some of his more off-putting behaviors (e.g., no matter what I do it's wrong -> something's wrong with me -> I should play into the Spooky persona -> people can't reject me because I am purposefully turning them away). The anxiety also makes sense in the context of his sister's abduction—while that sort of trauma could lead to someone shutting down, it also could leave a permanent sense of searching for something. That searching makes it feel as if something is missing or something isn't right, which leads to anxious behaviors.

Mulder is a character of extremes—there is very little grey area for him in most areas of his life, including his emotions, which creates a very disorganized presentation. He yearns for connection but is also afraid of it. He desperately wants to be loved but can't tolerate it because it's not what he's used to and that unfamiliarity feels unsafe. He's very intuitive and sensitive but can still manage to be completely unavailable and oblivious.

and a Lottienat doodle :3

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Nat: Get off me you crazy tree-worshipping bitch