Codependency is often referred to as “relationship addiction.” It’s an emotional and behavioral condition that interferes with an individual’s ability to develop a healthy, mutually satisfying relationship. It can be frustrating and destructive, but there are things that you can do to learn how to stop being codependent. To start, you should:
Look for signs of a healthy relationship
Maintain healthy boundaries
Care for yourself
Get help from a mental health professional
The term codependency was first used to describe the partner of someone with an addiction—whose unhealthy choices enable or encourage the addiction to continue. But over the years, it’s been expanded to include individuals who maintain one-sided, emotionally destructive, or abusive relationships, and those relationships don’t necessarily have to be romantic.
Therapy can help individuals with overcoming codependency. Some individuals are able to overcome codependency on their own. Learning about what it means to be codependent and the harm it causes can be enough for some individuals to change their behavior.