Codependency and How it Affects Relationships
Codependency is an issue that not enough people talk about. Many people even believe that codependency has become a normal part of life in today's society. However there are many reasons why having codependent tendencies can harm the relationships a person may have, even with the relationship that they have with themselves and their family. Codependency is defined by the Merriam-Webster Dictionary as “a psychological condition in which someone is in an unhappy and unhealthy relationship that involves living with and providing care for another person”. Codependency is a learned behavior which is an emotional and behavioral condition that affects an individual’s ability to have a healthy and mutually …show more content…
Parentification is harmful. From a very young age a child is made to believe that there is no time for fun and games because it is time to get serious and take care of the family. Julie Fuller and Rebecca Warner also have some good evidence when it comes to family stress and codependency. They wrote the article titled "Family Stressors as Predictors of Codependency", and in this article Fuller and Warner state that "Students with a history of chronic family stress (with an alcoholic, mentally ill, or physically ill parent) had significantly higher codependency scores on both scales. The findings suggest that other types of family stressors, not solely alcoholism, may be predictors of codependency." (Fuller, Warren, 2000) The scales Fuller and Warner are referring to are the Spann-Fischer Codependency Scale and the Potter-Efron Codependency Assessment. The …show more content…
However that is not the case because as Cheryl Hughes-Glickauf, Rebecca Jones, and Marolyn Wells mention in their article there is a way to help people who suffer from codependency and that is therapy. According to their findings most self-identified codependents were individual's who were parentified as children will often tend to remain close to the original family in a care taking role. This type of codependency is best managed with “directed family-of-origin work in therapy” because the afflicted can symbolically or directly separate themselves from their families, which allows for more independent relationships and stable with other significant people in their lives. According to the same study it is also beneficial for the codependent to learn the “difference between shame and guilt” because often times the “shame feelings may be associated originally with the internalization's from early interactions that were abusive, blaming, toxic, or inappropriately exposing.” Although these feeling may be important to help them learn from experiences it is also important to know the difference and be able to interrupt the inappropriate shame feelings so they can adopt a healthier way of solving internalized and externalized problems. There is another approach to “curing” codependency. As stated by Robert
Codependency is an issue that not enough people talk about. Many people even believe that codependency has become a normal part of life in today's society. However there are many reasons why having codependent tendencies can harm the relationships a person may have, even with the relationship that they have with themselves and their family. Codependency is defined by the Merriam-Webster Dictionary as “a psychological condition in which someone is in an unhappy and unhealthy relationship that involves living with and providing care for another person”. Codependency is a learned behavior which is an emotional and behavioral condition that affects an individual’s ability to have a healthy and mutually …show more content…
Parentification is harmful. From a very young age a child is made to believe that there is no time for fun and games because it is time to get serious and take care of the family. Julie Fuller and Rebecca Warner also have some good evidence when it comes to family stress and codependency. They wrote the article titled "Family Stressors as Predictors of Codependency", and in this article Fuller and Warner state that "Students with a history of chronic family stress (with an alcoholic, mentally ill, or physically ill parent) had significantly higher codependency scores on both scales. The findings suggest that other types of family stressors, not solely alcoholism, may be predictors of codependency." (Fuller, Warren, 2000) The scales Fuller and Warner are referring to are the Spann-Fischer Codependency Scale and the Potter-Efron Codependency Assessment. The …show more content…
However that is not the case because as Cheryl Hughes-Glickauf, Rebecca Jones, and Marolyn Wells mention in their article there is a way to help people who suffer from codependency and that is therapy. According to their findings most self-identified codependents were individual's who were parentified as children will often tend to remain close to the original family in a care taking role. This type of codependency is best managed with “directed family-of-origin work in therapy” because the afflicted can symbolically or directly separate themselves from their families, which allows for more independent relationships and stable with other significant people in their lives. According to the same study it is also beneficial for the codependent to learn the “difference between shame and guilt” because often times the “shame feelings may be associated originally with the internalization's from early interactions that were abusive, blaming, toxic, or inappropriately exposing.” Although these feeling may be important to help them learn from experiences it is also important to know the difference and be able to interrupt the inappropriate shame feelings so they can adopt a healthier way of solving internalized and externalized problems. There is another approach to “curing” codependency. As stated by Robert