codependency
Excessive relational reliance
Codependency is an unhealthy reliance on another person, especially one with addiction or behavioral problems.
The codependent person's self-worth becomes tied to caring for, rescuing, or controlling the other: Her codependency kept her in the marriage long after it turned abusive.
Originally from addiction recovery contexts, the term now applies broadly to any relationship where one person enables another's dysfunction while neglecting their own needs.
Boundary-blurring relational pattern
- attachmentConnection or fondness
- bondingForming close connections
- clinginessExcessive need for closeness
- needinessExcessive emotional reliance
intimacy · partnership · reliance · togetherness · connection · involvement · loyalty · commitment
Making something feasible
- rescuingSaving from danger
- fixingRestoring proper function
- shieldingProtecting from harm
- excusingForgiving a transgression
covering · protecting · caretaking · overhelping · accommodating · minimizing · denying · colluding
Capable of causing harm
- manipulationUnderhanded control of others
- controlAuthority to direct
- abuseCruel or violent treatment
- neglectFailure to provide care
trauma · dysfunction · boundaries · isolation · conflict · gaslighting · passive-aggression · triangulation
Uncertainty about oneself
- anxietyPersistent apprehensive distress
- fearEmotional response to threat
- shamePainful awareness of failure
- guiltMoral self-reproach
abandonment · jealousy · resentment · vulnerability · self-worth · validation · approval-seeking · emptiness
Curative mental treatment
- boundariesLines marking separation
- self-careMaintaining personal wellbeing
- healingRestoration of health
- counselingProfessional guidance for problems
recovery · self-help · empowerment · detachment · Al-Anon · twelve-step · sponsor · inner-child
Identification of illness
- treatmentCare for an ailment
- assessmentFormal evaluation of worth
- patternsRecurring arrangements or designs
- behaviorManner of conducting oneself
intervention · psychotherapy · Bowen · addiction · generational
enmeshment
Boundary-blurring relational pattern
- attachmentConnection or fondness
- bondingForming close connections
- clinginessExcessive need for closeness
neediness · intimacy · partnership · reliance · togetherness · connection · involvement · loyalty · commitment · companionship
enabling
Making something feasible
excusing · covering · protecting · caretaking · overhelping · accommodating · minimizing · denying · colluding · facilitating
toxic
Capable of causing harm
- manipulationUnderhanded control of others
- controlAuthority to direct
- abuseCruel or violent treatment
neglect · trauma · dysfunction · boundaries · isolation · conflict · gaslighting · passive-aggression · triangulation · blame-shifting
insecurity
Uncertainty about oneself
- anxietyPersistent apprehensive distress
- fearEmotional response to threat
- shamePainful awareness of failure
guilt · abandonment · jealousy · resentment · vulnerability · self-worth · validation · approval-seeking · emptiness · loneliness
therapy
Curative mental treatment
- boundariesLines marking separation
- self-careMaintaining personal wellbeing
- healingRestoration of health
counseling · recovery · self-help · empowerment · detachment · Al-Anon · twelve-step · sponsor · inner-child · reparenting
diagnosis
Identification of illness
- treatmentCare for an ailment
- assessmentFormal evaluation of worth
- patternsRecurring arrangements or designs
behavior · intervention · psychotherapy · Bowen · addiction · generational
- connectionslink, links, connect, connection, tie
- family dynamicsfamily dynamics, family roles, family therapy, sibling rivalry, parenting
- dependencerely, need, rely on, neediness, reliance
- Relationship Dynamicstrust, loyalty, betrayal, jealousy, support
- addictionsaddiction, drug addiction, alcoholism, nicotine addiction, gambling
- Codependencyenabling, enmeshment, people-pleasing, caretaking, rescuing
codependencyindependence
Freedom from external control
autonomy · self-sufficiency · interdependence · self-reliance · healthy boundaries
codependencyself-esteem
One's sense of worth
self-worth · emotional health · self-validation · self-love · self-actualization