 Do you feel unsatisfied in your relationships? Perhaps you feel that you might have a tendency to keep people at a distance, or perhaps even push them away. Feeling uncomfortable or afraid of intimacy is perfectly understandable. It isn't always easy to let people in, close enough to see your vulnerable side, especially after experiencing a failed relationship or having emotionally distant parents. However, this fear can also take a toll on you and your happiness. It is important to pay attention to signs that you may have a fear of intimacy in order to understand yourself better. Here are 5 signs you may be afraid of intimacy. 1. You struggle with low self-esteem. Does the thought of being truly honest and open bring up the fear of others discovering your shortcomings, whether real or imagined? Fear of intimacy is often rooted in a belief that you don't deserve to be loved. This can lead to you pushing other people away, afraid to hope that they can love and accept you, only to be disappointed. Low self-esteem goes hand in hand with being afraid to be vulnerable with someone. You may feel that being vulnerable opens you to potential judgment, and in the worst of cases, exploitation from those who might try to use their knowledge of your flaws against you. Vulnerability is a necessary part of truly intimate relationships, and so you may fear that intimacy can bring your weaknesses to the surface, and force you to acknowledge the parts of yourself that are difficult to confront and accept. 2. You withdraw from physical contact. It is important to go at your own pace when it comes to physical intimacy, but have you been actively avoiding perhaps even fearing physical contact such as holding hands? This sign alone may not automatically mean that you fear intimacy, as this can be traced back to several different factors. However, constantly avoiding physical contact with your partner can be one of several key signs that, when combined, may indicate a fear of intimacy. There is a part of you that feels the need to withdraw. In order to put up a barrier between you and your partner, you keep your distance to stop yourself from getting too attached. 3. You have brief or surface level relationships. Does your dating history consist of a series of short relationships? You might not have a problem with the initial stage of a relationship, but you start to feel uncomfortable when it progresses to you becoming closer, and thus feel more vulnerable with who you're seeing. In terms of friendship, you might also tend to keep people at a certain distance. You may have a number of friends with whom you can hang out or joke around, but you keep your friendship to a surface level. As a result, none of them are emotionally close enough to you to really know you. 4. You feel unable to express your needs. Do you find it difficult to express your wants and needs to your partner or loved ones? People with a fear of intimacy may struggle with proper communication in relationships. Perhaps you feel as though you may not deserve their support, or that they all decide that you are not worthy of it. Unfortunately, as your concerns continue to go unexpressed and therefore unaddressed, your needs in the relationship are not met, and you feel more unfulfilled. This may then gradually diminish trust. 5. You are overly critical. Within a relationship, do you find that you also become overly critical? You may do this out of fear of them getting too close. As a result, you push them away and safeguard the boundaries of your comfort zone. Your being hypercritical in this way comes from low self-esteem, causing you to be harding yourself. This in turn extends to setting the same expectations for the person you are in a relationship with. A fear of intimacy can be conquered with courage, patience, and proper support and help. A qualified mental health provider can help you work through your issues and understand yourself even better. If you feel that a fear of intimacy may be holding you back or keeping you from being truly happy, then it may help to take a minute to assess if these signs resonate with you. Are there any other signs that we missed? Let us know in the comments below. As always, keep an eye on PSY for more Psych2Go content. Thanks for watching, see you soon!