Relationships are one of the most vital sources of emotional support and joy. But there’s a fine line between healthy interdependence and codependency. Codependency can take a toll on one’s self-esteem and self-worth. Often...
By Rhoberta Shaler, PhD, Relationship Crisis Consultant. When you hear the word “abandonment,” you likely picture being left behind in a physical sense. But have you considered the idea of abandoning yourself? Sounds impossible,...
By Marshall Burtcher. Receiving someone’s disappointment with you is one of the biggest, scariest elements of codependency. This often invokes stomach-churning anxiety, shame-filled nausea, and activates the fawning response of pleasing and amplified apology...
By Briana MacWilliam MPS, ATR-BC, LCAT, Licensed Creative Arts Therapist and Attachment Coach. In the realm of relationships, codependency is a term frequently used to describe an unhealthy pattern where one partner becomes overly...
By Susan Ball, Abuse Recovery Expert & Mentor. Through my healing journey, I discovered I was co-dependent but I didn’t really understand what that meant. How did it impact my relationships with friends, family,...
By Candace Plattor, M.A. As an Addictions Therapist for over 30 years, specializing in working with families who are dealing with a loved one’s addiction – and as a recovering opioid addict with 35+...
By Michelle Farris, Licensed Psychotherapist. Codependent relationships are one-sided relationships where one person does most of the giving. This creates an unhealthy dependency. You end up doing all the heavy lifting, while the other...
By Stephanie McPhail, MS. Why do we want to return to who we were before our heart was broken by abuse? In the fallout after an unhealthy or abusive relationship, it’s a natural inclination...
By Candace van Dell, Spiritual Coach & Teacher. If you are struggling with Codependency it is because you were not allowed to be Authentic as a child. Your Mother or Father may have been...
By Carista Luminare, Ph.D. Love is a universal experience that has captivated the hearts and minds of humans for centuries. It is a complex emotion that defies simple definition, encompassing a multitude of feelings...
By Stacy Brookman, Resilience and Performance Coach. As human beings, we’re wired to seek companionship and support, especially during challenging periods. However, when one is dealing with codependency – an excessive emotional or psychological...
Childhood trauma has more long-term effects than you may think. Casting a shadow on our lives, childhood trauma shapes our beliefs, behaviors, and relationships and can lead to codependency, a dysfunctional behavior pattern in...
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This Is How to Deal with Anger Toward an Addict
By Candace Plattor. Is it ever ok to get angry with the addict I love? The truth is that many people who love addicts are people-pleasers, which is another term for codependency. My simple definition of codependency is when we put others’ needs ahead of our own, on a fairly consistent basis. Codependent people sometimes feel very guilty when they try to have their own needs met – believing, in some cases, that they are not worthy of having their needs...
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7 Ways to Recognize A Toxic Relationship & What You Can Do About It
By Stephanie McPhail. Along with physical wellness and financial security, having healthy relationships is one of the biggest contributors to a balanced and fulfilling life. Sometimes, even when we appear to have achieved these things on the surface, there are indicators that we’re lacking the necessary ingredients to sustain them. When they go unaddressed, these detrimental factors will eventually undermine the contentment we desire. By learning to recognize the signs of imbalance, we can begin to take steps to correct them and...
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Codependency Recovery: 7 Steps for Healing Yourself and Your Relationships
By Michelle Farris. One size does NOT fit all when it comes to codependency. Whether you relate to a few traits or all of them – recovering from codependency looks different on every person! In relationship, the codependent person ends up doing most of the giving. You give way past the point of it hurting because you need that person to make you feel whole. When codependency is an issue, you crave other people’s approval. You’re constantly looking outside of...
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By Kevin Petersen. Addiction. It’s a disease that affects the entire family. When a person suffers from addiction, it creates a detrimental impact on one’s life, and it can be difficult to watch someone you care about go through this. But let’s face it: it’s common for family members to take it upon themselves to try to heal a loved one struggling with addiction. Without proper treatment, this can turn into a toxic..
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The Life-Changing Insight That Helped Me Finally Break Free From Codependency
By Marlena Tillhon. Traditional codependency literature has you believe that codependency usually emerges in romantic relationships. We only become aware of it once we’ve had our hearts broken a few dozen times and leap from unhealthy relationship to unhealthy relationship. In my personal and professional experience, codependency expresses itself through us in all areas of life and not just in our love lives...
