The Dependency Paradox

Attachment principles teach us that most people are only as needy as their unmet needs. When their emotional needs are met, and the earlier the better, they usually turn their attention outward. This is sometimes referred to in attachment literature as the “dependency paradox”: The more effectively dependent people are on one another, the more independent and daring they become.

— Amir Levine, M. D., and Rachel S. F. Heller, M. A., Attached, p. 21