Signs of Codependency

Codependency isn't just being helpful or caring. It's a pattern where your sense of self becomes dependent on taking care of others—often at your own expense. According to SAMHSA, codependency frequently develops in families affected by addiction or dysfunction.

Signs of Codependency

• Difficulty making decisions without others' input
• Taking responsibility for others' emotions
• Feeling guilty when you do something for yourself
• Fear of abandonment driving your behavior
• Staying in unhealthy relationships too long
• Low self-worth tied to what you do for others
• Difficulty identifying your own needs and feelings
• Enabling destructive behavior in others
• Chronic people-pleasing
• Poor or nonexistent boundaries

How Codependency Develops

Codependency often develops in childhood when you learned that your worth came from taking care of others, keeping the peace, or managing others' emotions. Research from the National Institutes of Health links codependency to growing up with addicted, mentally ill, or emotionally unavailable parents.

Breaking Codependent Patterns

• Develop awareness of your patterns
• Learn to identify and express your own needs
• Practice setting and enforcing boundaries
• Build self-worth independent of caretaking
• Work with a therapist who understands codependency
• Consider support groups like CoDA