Attention Seeking Behaviors

When a child is not able to get attention from his or her primary caretakers, he or she will do what kids do and act out by saying or doing something that creates some drama. Children do this because negative attention is still attention. We expect this because children are trying to figure out how to do life, and part of their job is to push the boundaries and our buttons.

What we don't expect, and what becomes a big problem in relationships, is when adults act out in this manner. Make no mistake. If you ever say, "I should just kill myself," to see how your partner will respond, it is unquestionably an attention-seeking behavior. And it is one of the unhealthiest actions you can indulge in.

Creating this kind of drama in an adult relationship is at best a sad commentary on an obviously broken communication dynamic. In addition,...