Monthly Archive: September 2024

How To Do What You Want (And Know What That Is)

By Laura K. Connell. Did you know you’re allowed to do what you want? If you struggle with codependency, you may spend most of your time doing things that other people want (or that...

Codependency & Your Nuclear Family

By Cheryl Fidelman, The Conscious Codependence™ Coach. Are there things that you may share with a complete stranger but wouldn’t think to share with a family member? Would you tell a friend about who...

A Quick Guide to Saying No in Codependency Recovery

By Michelle Farris, licensed psychotherapist and codependency expert. Saying no gets a bad rap. The biggest fear in codependency recovery is appearing selfish to others. By saying no, you assume the other person will...

Gains: Your Source Of Power And Resiliency

By Marshall Burtcher. I view healing codependency as a life-long process discovering who we are beyond it. This involves a journey through three specific phases: Survival, Healing, and Creation. When we’re in Survival, our...

Codependency: The Illusion of Connection

By Susan Ball, Unapologetically You Mentor & Coach. I can remember saying to people who questioned my lousy choices in relationships – I feel such a deep connection with him! But it was a...

How Women Can Balance Empathy and Boundaries Without Falling Into the Codependency Trap

By Stacy Brookman, Resilience & Leadership Coach. Empathy is a valuable quality that helps build deep connections and meaningful relationships. For many women, it comes naturally, making them supportive friends, partners, and colleagues. However,...

Why Exes Threaten Suicide: Understanding the Dynamics and Protecting Your Well-Being

By Stephanie McPhail, MS. Imagine this scenario: you’ve finally mustered the strength to leave a toxic relationship. You’re ready to reclaim your peace and rebuild your life. But then, your ex throws a curveball—a...

ReThink Stress: How to Lower Your Blood Pressure and Start Seeing What Is

By iKE ALLEN, Founder of AVAIYA and Creator of ReThink & Somatic ReThink™ I used to think my codependency was just an emotional issue. I thought if I could just figure out the right...

It’s Not You, It’s Generational Trauma

By Candace van Dell. Lately my work has been heavily focused on generation trauma and healing. Over the past decade or so I have focused entirely on getting unhealed empaths back into their power...

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...

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...

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...

What Is Codependency?

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..

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...

Stop Gaslighting Your Inner Child

By Candace van Dell. In my work, I often talk about what we do to our inner child is what was done to us in childhood. We learn to parent our inner child, punish her/him, neglect, reject or abandon (if this is what was done to us). Many of these experiences create codependency...

Codependency and Childhood Neglect: What You Need To Know

By Briana MacWilliam. How does childhood neglect contribute to codependent relationships in adulthood? In this article we will explore a definition for childhood neglect and codependent relationships, and explore how one begets the other. You will also learn how to recognize if you have experienced childhood neglect...

The Natural Attraction of Codependents and Narcissists

By Carista Luminare. I have been a relationship counselor for 44 years, specializing in how the bond with our primary attachment figures impacts our adult intimacy dynamics. Our childhood experiences and development define our capacity to know what Love IS (and is not). Because of my childhood and later life relationships...

Are You Walking on Eggshells in Your Relationship?

By Rhoberta Shaler, Ph.D. When you must tread lightly because of a fragile ego, tiptoe around someone’s short temper, or be careful what you say or how you say it… that’s walking on eggshells. Do you recognize that you are walking on eggshells? It’s a difficult and uncomfortable way to be in relationship with someone! Are you always...

How To Cultivate Self-Trust

By Krista Resnick. Codependency created much pain and agony in my life. One of the ways it manifested most was my extreme lack of self trust. I would overthink decisions to death, fearful that I would choose the ‘wrong one,’ or upset someone if they didn’t agree or were disappointed by my choice. I was terrified of...

What Codependency Really Is & What It’s Doing For You

By Marshall Burtcher. Have you been told any of these things about codependency:

That it is a disease?
That it is an identity?
That it is part of who you are?
That it is permanent?
That you’ll have to cope with it for the rest of your life?...

What Does Codependency Look Like in Family Relationships?

By Yasmin Kerkez. Codependency is certainly not a new condition, and awareness of codependency is growing in the greater community. At the same time, it’s also one of those labels that many of us have heard of but don’t know exactly what it involves. In the media and online, it is most commonly linked to romantic relationships, people who exist in a caregiver role...