Codependent. You’ve probably heard people describe themselves or others as “codependent;” it’s a commonly used term these days.
But what exactly is codependency? Is it a good thing, a bad thing, or somewhere in the middle?
There are many different definitions, and many different experts on the subject. Initially, a codependent relationship was defined as one when one person in a relationship was abusing a substance, and the person who wasn’t the user enabled its continuation by hiding, discounting, explaining away, not confronting, or denying the painful impact of the illness. So while they weren’t dependent or addicted to the substance themselves, the were “co” dependent on it because their actions – or inactions- contributed to the situation.
Here is a classic example of codependency and how it’s maintained. Your alcoholic husband wakes up in the middle of the night, demanding more beer. You get up and drive to the nearest open grocery store to get it for him. Your reasoning? No one will get hurt if you drive. That’s understandable and even seemingly rational on your part. Yet what might a non-codependent partner do? Pick up the phone and call the police immediately when he gets his key and leaves. You don’t do that for many potential reasons. He’s abusive and you’re scared of him. He’s not going to get treatment, so why bother. Your children would be embarrassed. You’d be embarrassed. It avoids conflict. You needs a sense of control. And on and on…
These days, however, the term “codependent” has morphed into something much more general. When you say, “I’m codependent,” or, “We’re codependent,” you’re often describing a loss of feeling responsible as individuals and/or that your lives are too tightly interwoven.
What’s also likely is that your relationship is bringing out some of your most unhealthy issues, including not knowing where you begin and your partner ends. You’ve become what’s termed “enmeshed.”
An example of more generalized codependency…
You’re a highly insecure woman with problems with self-hatred purges (vomits your food). You’re partnered with a perfectionistic man who’s uncomfortable with conflict. He can hear what you are doing late at night, but doesn’t confront your disease, instead avoiding it entirely. You continue purging for comfort, urgently needing his attention. When you becomes too sick, he waits on you hand and foot, and tells you how great you look. You soak up his attentiveness and start feeling less needy and more secure in the relationship and life in general. Things return to a more normal dynamic for but until you feel once again that he is “not there for you.” So begins the cycle all over again, focusing only on needing to please, desperate for validation that he loves you. You are both trapped in your own pain, yet their interaction is compulsive. It’s not good, honest caring and empathy. You may both feel they have no other choice than to do what you’re doing.
And so the destructive pattern continues.
Linda Esposito in Psychology Today offers questions about how you can tell you’re in a codependent relationship.
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Originally published on January 6, 2018; updated and republished on August 7, 2022..
So what can you do when you realize that your relationship is taking up way too much of your energy? Or when you know there’s a secret in your family that you’ll do anything to hide from others? Or that you jump through all kinds of hoops to keep your partner “happy,” even though there’s a problem that neither of you is confronting head on?
Here are some ideas.
For the “enabled.”
For the “enabler.”
These questions aren’t easy to answer, nor are they all that’s needed. They are a starting point, or a guide to the kind of emotional work that needs to be done if the relationship has a chance of being healthy. A good therapist can help.
There are some excellent books on the topic. Codependent No More is a classic. But there are others that you can find that more speak to you.
The goal is to unhook from one another — to take responsibility for fixing what problems you have as an individual, and not to live your life in denial, or martyrdom. Giving and receiving. Honest empathy and caring. Being there for one another in a real way, gently confronting when boundaries are crossed.
It’s not codependence. It’s called interdependence. And it can feel so much better.