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Codependence

What is Codependence?

By Ann Schiebert, PsyD

The original concept of codependence was developed to acknowledge the responses and behaviors people develop from living with an alcoholic or substance user. The current concept has evolved into the idea that codependency is a set of maladaptive, compulsive behaviors learned by family members in order to survive in a family which is experiencing great emotional pain and stress. It is no longer necessary to be in a relationship with an alcoholic or substance user to suffer with issues of codependency.

Let’s have a closer look at the current description of codependency:

Maladaptive: the inability for a person to develop behaviors which get their needs met.
Compulsive: codependents develop a psychological state in which they act against their own will or conscious desires in which to behave.
Causes of family emotional pain and stress: chemical dependency, chronic mental illness, chronic physical illness, physical abuse, sexual abuse, emotional abuse, divorce, and a hypercritical or non-loving environment.
Medical research shows that the codependent develops physical symptoms that are similar to the addict’s.

Codependent people have a greater tendency to get involved in relationships with people who are perhaps unreliable, emotionally unavailable, or needy. The codependent person tries to provide and control everything within the relationship without addressing their own needs or desires. They set themselves up for continued unfufillment.

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