What is codependency?
Codependency is a relationship issue that concerns an individual’s own behavior in a relationship. A person who is codependent has an unhealthy reliance on the other person in the relationship to the point where the codependent views the other person as more important than himself or herself. A codependent person will put the other person’s needs before his or her own needs and will do whatever he or she can to accommodate them. A codependent tends to be highly sensitive and tends to determine his or her own value based upon the approval of the other person. Codependency is often compared to addictions, such as gambling or substance abuse, due to its ability to cause obsessive, self-destructive behaviors.
What are the symptoms of codependency?
Codependents tend to have one or more of the following:
- Low self-esteem
- Intense need to help and accommodate others, even if it requires them to sacrifice their own needs
- Highly sensitive of other people’s feelings & opinions
- Desire to have control over other people in order to feel okay
- Communication issues
- Obsessive thinking patterns (especially about another person)
- Dependency on another person due to fear of abandonment
- Denial about their symptoms
- Emotions such as: anxiety, fear, anger, resentment, depression, hopelessness, and despair
How does someone recover from codependency?
In order to stop codependent behavior, the person must become self-aware and must put forth the effort to change his or her behaviors. Breaking old habits and developing new behaviors may not be easy, which is why therapists offer specialized counseling to help people overcome codependency.
Browse Urban Balance therapists who specialize in codependency.
Click here to browse Codependency Resources in UB’s Wellness Directory.
Lancer, D. (2012). Symptoms of Codependency. Psych Central. Retrieved on January 10, 2015, from http://psychcentral.com/lib/
Lancer, D. (2013). Recovery from Codependency. Psych Central. Retrieved on January 10, 2015, from http://psychcentral.com/lib/