How to Identify the Signs and Patterns of Codependency
Codependent relationships are any relationship where one person puts everybody else’s needs ahead of their own. This may be seen in a romantic relationship, a family, or a friendship. Common patterns of codependency that occur between codependent partners or another codependent person include:
- Compliance – doing what others want to avoid change, making somebody angry, or getting approval, even if it involves staying in a dangerous or harmful situation
- Denial – minimizing or denying their own unpleasant feelings, labeling others negatively, masking their own pain, and not taking care of themselves so they do not have to set limits with others
- Having low self-esteem – having difficulty making their own decisions and seeking validation from others, or relying on others to feel safe
- Control – believing nobody else will be able to “do a good job” taking care of others the way they do, using sexual attention to get approval, using passive aggression or shaming others to control them emotionally
- Avoidance of intimacy – avoiding intimacy or acting in ways that incite anger or rejection from others to create emotional distance, believing displays of emotion or affection are signs of weakness
Codependency recovery is not easy, but with the help of the right program in the right treatment center, you will be able to heal from codependency.