what does it mean to be emotionally unavailable

Being emotionally unavailable means having persistent difficulty in expressing, processing, or engaging with emotions, which results in an inability or unwillingness to get emotionally close to others. It often shows up as avoiding intimacy, struggling with commitment, being defensive, minimizing others' emotions, or lacking empathy. This state may arise from factors like insecure attachment styles, past trauma, personality disorders, or cultural influences, and typically makes forming deep, meaningful relationships challenging. Emotional unavailability is not about a lack of feelings but about the difficulty in sharing or responding to emotions in relationships, often leading to barriers in connection and emotional support.