What are the 6 hallmarks of codependency?

Below are six of the defining characteristics of codependency: poor boundaries, a weak sense of self, unhealthy emotional dependency and caretaking, controlling behaviors, difficulty with intimacy, and being uncomfortable with feelings.


What are 5 to 10 characteristics of a codependent person?

Signs of codependency include:
  • Difficulty making decisions in a relationship.
  • Difficulty identifying your feelings.
  • Difficulty communicating in a relationship.
  • Valuing the approval of others more than valuing yourself.
  • Lacking trust in yourself and having poor self-esteem.


What is at the root of codependency?

Codependency is usually rooted in childhood. Often, a child grows up in a home where their emotions are ignored or punished. This emotional neglect can give the child low self-esteem and shame. They may believe their needs are not worth attending to.


What is codependency checklist?

Codependents often...

Have difficulty making decisions. Judge what they think, say, or do harshly, as never good enough. Are embarrassed to receive recognition, praise, or gifts. Value others' approval of their thinking, feelings, and behavior over their own. Do not perceive themselves as lovable or worthwhile persons.

What are the traits of someone who is codependent?

A tendency to do more than their share, all of the time. A tendency to become hurt when people don't recognize their efforts. An unhealthy dependence on relationships. The co-dependent will do anything to hold on to a relationship; to avoid the feeling of abandonment.


8 Signs You May Be Codependent



What are the five core symptoms of codependency?

The five core symptoms of co-dependence
  • Self-esteem and self-love.
  • Setting functional boundaries with other people and protecting oneself.
  • Owning one's own reality and identifying who one is.
  • Addressing one's adult needs and wants, manifesting into self-care difficulties.
  • Being moderate or contained.


What is the main symptom of codependency?

One of the primary signs of potential codependency is feeling like you can't live without the other person. People with codependent tendencies often feel a compulsive need to keep themselves connected with the other person.

What are codependents afraid of?

Codependent fears

As a result, codependents tend to fear rejection, criticism, not being good enough, failure, conflict, vulnerability, and being out of control. So, situations and people that trigger these fears can spike our anxiety.


Am I an empath or a codependent?

When another person is having an emotional experience, empathy allows us to hold space. We can be fully present and listen. But with codependency, we lack the ability to regulate our emotions: When someone comes to us needing support, we cannot hold space.

What mental illness causes codependency?

Mental health experts borrowed criteria of codependent behavior from dependent personality disorder, borderline personality disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and histrionic personality disorder. Even without a clear diagnosis, giving up on someone with mental illness should be avoided.

What childhood trauma causes codependency?

Childhood trauma is often a root cause of codependency. They don't always result, but for many people codependent relationships are a response to unaddressed past traumas. One reason may be that childhood trauma is usually family-centered: abuse, neglect, domestic violence, or even just divorce and fighting.


How do you break a codependency cycle?

Some healthy steps to healing your relationship from codependency include:
  1. Start being honest with yourself and your partner. ...
  2. Stop negative thinking. ...
  3. Don't take things personally. ...
  4. Take breaks. ...
  5. Consider counseling. ...
  6. Rely on peer support. ...
  7. Establish boundaries.


What is the cure for codependency?

The best treatment for codependency is psychotherapy. Therapies focused on noticing behaviors and changing reactions, like cognitive behavioral therapy, can help all parties involved in a codependent relationship. Sobriety is necessary if substance abuse is involved in the codependent relationship.

What is high functioning codependent?

High functioning codependency is a behavior characterized by blurred boundaries and an imbalance in relationships. In highly functioning codependent relationships, one person takes responsibility for fulfilling another person's needs, trying to control all aspects of their relationship.


What are the two sides to a codependent relationship?

There are two opposing roles that each person in a codependent relationship typically plays: the giver and the taker, says Burn.

Do narcissists like codependents?

This pair may connect for a variety of reasons, including the mutual need to feel needed. The codependent person tends to give continuously, while the narcissistic person tends to take. These two personalities have a lot in common, but their differences can make their relationship unhealthy or even toxic.

Do codependent people have friends?

Codependent friendships can swallow you up becoming the most important relationship in your life; you might even feel like you cant live without this friendship. Healthy friendships meet the needs of both people. Its normal for there to be some imbalance in the short-term, but things should balance out over time.


Can codependents be alone?

Being codependent can be extremely lonely. Avoid the rabbit hole by setting boundaries and protecting yourself from becoming emotionally isolated.

How do you know you've healed from codependency?

Signs of Codependency Recovery
  1. You validate your feelings and say nice things to yourself. ...
  2. You notice what you do right rather than only the things you do wrong or imperfectly.
  3. You set realistic expectations for yourself. ...
  4. You celebrate your progress, even baby steps in the right direction.


What attachment style do codependents have?

Anxious attachment is what is most often referred to as codependent. Those with anxious attachment often feel as though they would like to be close to others or one person in particular but they worry that another person may not want to be close to them. They struggle with feeling inferior, never good enough.


Who do codependents marry?

Within a codependent marriage, one partner has extreme emotional or physical needs, and the other partner is willing to do whatever it takes to meet those needs. The codependent is so in love, and they want that love reciprocated.

What are the tools of recovery for codependency?

Codependency recovery
  • Make self-care a priority. Self-care means valuing yourself and giving yourself love and compassion, says Schiff. ...
  • Nurture your social relationships. ...
  • Get comfortable setting and maintaining boundaries. ...
  • Find healthy ways to regulate emotional responses with your partner. ...
  • Practice self-soothing behaviors.


What personality disorders overlap with codependency?

For example, codependency symptoms overlap significantly with dependent personality disorder (DPD), as well as a borderline personality disorder (BPD).


What is a toxic codependent?

Here are the basics: Codependent relationships happen between two individuals. One person is “troubled” and tends to absorb the other's energy and resources by behaving selfishly. The other person, the Codependent, compulsively takes care of the other at the cost of their own wellbeing and independence.

What causes high functioning codependency?

The Spectrum of Codependency

Being under stress. Being in a unhealthy relationship. Past traumas. Your family dynamics.