Codependency describes a learned behavior that can be passed down through generations. It is an emotional and behavioral condition that prevents people from forming healthy relationships and attracts one-sided, emotionally destructive, or abusive relationships.
A codependent relationship can be with a romantic partner, a family member, or a friend. The codependent person feels worthless unless the enabler needs them. Most codependent relationships involve some form of underlying dysfunction, such as addiction, abuse, or mental illness.
Here are a few signs that may indicate you are in a codependent relationship.
Fear of Abandonment
If you suffer from codependency, you probably have a deep-rooted fear that the other person will leave you. Therefore, you do everything in your power to please them, even if that means neglecting your own needs, wants, and desires. You may even feel the need to lie or support your enabler’s unhealthy habits to ensure they stay with you.
No Sense of Self
A person who is codependent will have a difficult time knowing who they truly are. They become a reflection of the person they are in a relationship with and lose their sense of self and identity. A codependent person usually feels like their personality depends on the other person. Their focus is only on things the other person likes or dislikes.
Lack of a Support System
Spending all your time and energy on someone else does not allow you to make connections with others. You look around and realize you are in a codependent relationship when you have no support system around you. You have no friends, family, or loved ones to turn to because you have neglected all of them for your enabler.
Resentment
After a while in a codependent relationship, you may begin to resent the other person. You’ll resent them while feeling like you can’t live without them or like they can’t live without you. This is one of the biggest signs that your relationship is unhealthy and potentially codependent.
If you recognize these signs within yourself or in someone you know and love, it is important to seek help. Codependent relationships can ruin other aspects of your life, like your career, or they could even wreck you financially.
At Abundant Life, our life coaching services can help you see your codependency issues or tendencies. We will devise a course of action to help you find the root cause and work on breaking the cycle.
Contact us at (810)252-1315 for a free, confidential consultation and start investing in yourself!
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