What is Codependency?
Codependency is a relational and emotional condition that results in a person overly sacrificing their needs for the benefit of others. This can manifest as excessive caregiving or enabling, putting the needs of others before their own, or being overly concerned with other people’s approval. Codependency is often rooted in childhood trauma; when a child sees the pattern of codependency in their caregivers or becomes caretakers of their own parents emotionally (sometimes referred to as parentification).
People who suffer from codependency tend to have low self-worth and poor boundaries. They commonly look for love and validation outside of themselves instead of within. Poor boundaries can lead to unhealthy relationships and poor decision-making in all areas of life.
Signs of Codependency include:
- Having no interests or values outside of a relationship (friendship, family, or intimate relationship)
- Not knowing who you are because you spend so much time thinking of other’s needs and wants
- Considering your own needs and wants as unimportant
- Only feeling good or worthy when other’s needs are taken care of or when they give you praise
- Not knowing how to internally validate
- Extreme fear of abandonment from your relationships
- Having low self-esteem
- Difficulty making decisions
- Be overly compliant or “easy-going”
- Be over-functioning or try to control outcomes for their significant others
Therapy and Counseling for Codependency
- Therapy and counseling can be very helpful for someone struggling with codependency. Counseling can help people recognize, challenge and change codependent ways of thinking.
- Therapy can also target and heal attachment trauma that may contribute to a person’s codependent thoughts and feelings.
- Therapy and counseling can help someone with codependency learn how to focus inward and learn about their values, needs, wants and how to healthfully communicate them to others.
- Therapy and counseling can teach important skills like self-validation and how to tolerate the emotional distress of others without taking it on or trying to fix it.
Therapy and Counseling for Codependency in Wichita
There is hope and healing. Doing talk therapy and attachment-based therapy with a licensed therapist can help you heal patterns of codependency. To learn more or work with a mental health professional on your symptoms of codependency, call Soma Therapy at 316-201-6047 or fill out our contact form.