If you're a Gen-Z or millennial, you are probably aware of the "emotional support" water bottle phenomenon: having an unusually large yet aesthetically pleasing water receptacle always within arm's reach, just in case the merest hint of thirst should hit at any given moment.
But the emotional support water bottle doesn't just sit at the desk or in the car's cupholder: it also comes to the supermarket, to catch-ups over coffee, and of course, on hot girl walks. It's omnipresent, a necessity, much like a child and their raggedy blanket. One must have their water at all times, even if it's the end of the world - we still need to stay hydrated in an apocalypse, after all.
But what is the psychology behind the emotional support water bottle? Julie Sweet, a registered clinical counsellor from Sydney, has revealed a surprising link between your water bottle and your attachment style.
Speaking to Daily Mail's Femail, Sweet said water bottles have become something of a "safety blanket" for adults - and can even help individuals "cope with their mental wellbeing and emotions".
"Carrying the water bottle offers an anchoring sense of comfort and stability, often for those dealing with stress, depression or anxiety. Water bottles represent an individual's character and beliefs, highlighting personal traits and passions," she added.
"An emotional support water bottle provides someone who is feeling anxious a soothing feeling. Anxiety can in some cases be traced back to an infant's attachment to the primary caregiver. Yet as adults, we can move away from the caregiver, such as a parent, to a transitional object like a water bottle."
Sweet believes water bottles have become a source of comfort due to the link between hydration and health, as water plays a key role in many bodily functions. Drinking water brings nutrients to cells, removes waste, protects joints and organs and maintains your internal body temperature.
As a result, people have started to associate hydration with feeling "better", Sweet explained - making a water bottle a mechanism for self-soothing.
However, a person's attachment style may influence the type of water bottle they are most drawn to, Sweet revealed. Psychologists say there are four styles: secure, anxious, avoidant and disorganised, of which the latter three are considered insecure attachments.
The theory believes your attachment style from infancy can influence your relationships in adulthood, based on your earliest emotional bonds with the person most responsible for your well-being - most often your birth parent.
Here's a brief overview of these attachment styles:
- Secure attachment: Babies became upset when their parent left and were comforted by their return.
- Anxious attachment: Babies would become very upset when their parent left and would be difficult to comfort upon their return.
- Avoidant attachment: Babies would barely react or not react at all when their parent left or returned.
- Disorganised attachment: Babies had more erratic or incoherent reactions to their parent leaving or returning, such as hitting their heads on the ground or 'freezing up'.
"Different attachment styles are drawn to the emotional support water bottle for different reasons," Sweet told Femail.
People who are securely attached may be drawn to functional, durable and practical water bottles with less interest in the colour of style, she said. Alternatively, people with an anxious attachment style are more likely to be drawn to sentimentality.
"It's about the design, colour, and the sense of safety and security of what a water bottle represents," Sweet told Femail. "They're looking more so at the sentimental value. Also image-wise, what's on trend, and what's popular - they can be worried about what looks good and what can support them to make them feel secure.
"If their bottle was misplaced, it would be very difficult for them."
Anxiously attached people will likely be drawn to calming colours, like blue or grey, while those who are securely attached will prioritise basic, neutral colours like black.
Like a secure attachment, people who are avoidant may prioritise functionality and convenience, seeking out a bottle that is practical, easy to use and minimal in its design. They'll often forgo trends in favour of a classic, clean aesthetic, possibly in a pastel or earthy hue.
Sweet did not explain what would appeal to those with the disorganised style, which is the most extreme and least common. As per Cleveland Clinic, people with disorganised attachment can be seen as unpredictable, intense or irrational in their relationships.
This attachment often forms through a particularly tumultuous childhood, one that may be marked by fear or trauma. It typically stems from an erratic or incoherent relationship with the baby's primary caregiver. As adults, they're likely to crave close relationships but push others away when interest or attention is shown.
