I'm a psychotherapist and this is the dark truth about your 'emotional water bottle' habit

A psychotherapist has revealed a surprising link between your attachment style and your water bottle - and the shocking truth lurking behind 'trendy' buys.

Julie Sweet, a registered clinical counsellor from Sydney, told FEMAIL that people's water bottles have turned into their 'safety blankets' in adulthood.

Julie Sweet, a registered clinical counsellor from Sydney

'Emotional support water bottles have become widespread as a means for individuals to cope with their mental wellbeing and emotions,' she said.

While people who have a secure attachment style are typically drawn to functional, durable water bottles, those who are anxiously attached are constantly in search of what is 'trending' and prefer brighter colours.

'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,' Ms Sweet said.

Why do people have emotional support water bottles?

Ms Sweet revealed that modern people are very 'self aware' and 'insightful' - and they are actively looking for tools to help them combat everyday anxieties.

'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.'

Water bottles tend to soothe anxieties because they hydrate you and stabilise your central nervous system.

Drinking water aids digestion, maintains your internal temperature, and keeps your tissues and joints lubricated.

Ms Sweet revealed that modern people are very 'self aware' and 'insightful' - and they are actively looking for tools to help them combat everyday anxieties

People have begun to associate feeling 'better' through hydration with their bottles and dubbed them an another mechanism of self-soothing.

'Australians are becoming very health conscious. So, I think water bottles are a great staple for anyone to have.'

What's your attachment style?

Clinical psychology expert Stan Tatkin assigned nature phenomenons to the three types of attachment styles.

Secure people are anchors, anxious people are waves, and avoidant people are islands.

Secure attachment style  

'Different attachment styles are drawn to the emotional support water bottle for different reasons,' Ms Sweet noted.

'The securely attached person looks for the emotional support water bottle as a real practical functional object. It's an extension of themselves.

'They're confident and grounded. They don't care about the colour or sense of style, but how durable the bottle is. Is it strong? Powerful? Will it deliver what it needs to deliver? If they care about colour, it'll most likely be black or white.'

'The securely attached person looks for the emotional support water bottle as a real practical functional object. It's an extension of themselves,' she said

Ms Sweet also drew attention to the brand new Ninja Thirsti bottles (from $49.99) that just hit Australian shelves. 

'Securely attached people will love this because it has a bubble lock and leak lock technology. The bottles are very practical,' she said.

Anxious attachment style

'On the other hand, anxiously attached people are drawn to sentimentality. It's about the design, colour, and the sense of safety and security of what a water bottle represents,' Ms Sweet said.

'So 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.'

The psychotherapist said that people with anxious attachment styles are drawn to calming colours like blue and grey. 

'The anxiously attached are more insecure around the objects, so they would hold a lot of importance if they were to lose the object.

'If their bottle was misplaced, it would be very difficult for them because it would be as if they lost their sense of self.'

Water bottles tend to soothe anxieties because they hydrate you and stabilise your central nervous system 

Avoidant attachment style

'Avoidant people are similar to securely attached ones because they value functionality, but it is also about what is convenient for them. They want something clean, easy, accessible.

'The island will really be very individual. They'll go against that trend - very dissimilar to the anxiously attached person.

'They look at functionality, but they also look at a really clean line - something that's functional, durable, but also minimalistic.'

Ms Sweet said that 'islands' are into 'classic' aesthetics when it comes to water bottles.

In terms of colour, avoidant people are drawn to minimal hues like pastels and pale earthy tones.