Any personality disorder can feel oppressive and difficult to manage, especially on one’s own. Without a strong support system or professional help, it’s easy to feel like you’re deep in a chasm that’s impossible to climb. When you’re struggling with a mental health disorder that’s dependent on an outside factor, working toward recovery can feel even more futile. Codependency, in particular, can make you believe that you can’t care for your needs yourself, which is a dangerous mindset to settle into. When you’re searching for couples therapy in Texas, it may be valuable to consider your relationship and whether or not codependency describes it.
People may consider couples therapy for a variety of different reasons. From infidelity and sexual dysfunction to finances and poor communication, couples worldwide turn to therapy when they feel their relationship can benefit from it. At Grace Counseling, we want to help. We treat a wide range of mental wellness and addiction issues and cater our treatment directly to the patient in question. We understand that no one mental health treatment fits everyone. For more information about our facilities in Fort Worth and Lewisville, contact us today by calling 844.564.0712 or visiting us online.
What Is Codependency Disorder?
The term “codependency” refers to extreme or single-sided behavior in a relationship that is intended to please the other party. When someone is struggling with codependency disorder, they feel like they have to be needed by the other member of the relationship and may sacrifice aspects of their own health, well-being, and happiness to ensure that the other person is happy. When someone is placing another person’s needs above every other aspect of their life, it’s easy to feel like it’s just love at first. In actuality, though, this can represent a pattern of very unhealthy behavior that only serves to harm both parties.
Sometimes, people refer to codependency disorder as a “relationship addiction,” and that name isn’t too far off the mark. Codependency can damage your ability to have meaningful and mutually beneficial relationships and instead replace those with one-sided, destructive bonds. Codependency doesn’t only refer to romantic relationships. The kind of dysfunction that codependency disorder fosters can be found in any time of relationship, including familial ones, platonic ones, and even working relationships. Any bond wherein one party finds themself unhealthily dependent on the happiness and approval of the other can be considered codependency.
What Does Codependency Look Like?
When you’re examining your own relationships to determine whether or not codependency is affecting them, there are certain warning signs you can look for:
- Feeling an intense need to constantly act as a caregiver for the other party
- Difficulty with one’s self-image, or defining one’s self by the relationship in question
- Low or declining self-esteem
- Trouble communicating effectively, especially when it comes to expressing one’s needs to the other party
- Excessive stress on the relationship, often driven by insecurity or the need to do everything right
- Inability to set or maintain boundaries in the relationship
- Ignoring problems in the relationship, often to the detriment of both parties
- Feeling withdrawn, depressed, or isolated in situations away from the other part
- Consistently acting as a “people pleaser”
Reach Out to Grace Counseling Today
When you conclude that your relationship may be suffering from the effects of codependency, it can feel impossible to know what the next step is. In addition, many people struggling with codependency disorder are resistant to help, even after they’ve accepted that it’s a problem. Working through these feelings in couples therapy can get you back on the right track. For more information about our couples therapy programs, call Grace Counseling at 844.564.0712 today.
