Codependency Within the Context of Addiction

Codependency (in the context of addiction) refers to the overt and harmful emotional involvement of a person in the life of an addict. Nobody suffers more than the addict’s loved ones while they’re in the full throws of their habit. The heartbreak of watching someone go through addiction can render loved ones incapable of the emotional detachment needed to successfully convince an addict to deal with their problem. Their emotions can cause them to enable the victim, and perpetuate the addictive cycle. Codependency is evident in a person’s over-compliance, weak will, low self-esteem and compulsion to please. Typically a codependent’s inclination toward excessive caretaking is a crippling deterrent to the patient getting the real help they need for lasting sobriety. Codependency is a serious disease that warrants prompt and extended psychiatric assistance.

Codependency Outside the Context of Addiction

There are other forms of codependency that also mandate a certain level of psychological evaluation. Codependents go to irrational extremes in the maintenance of somebody else. This can occur within the family, the workforce, the romantic relationship, etc. It’s not uncommon for a codependent to see to the well-being of someone else, while completely neglecting their own. Theirs is a serious and common psychological problem that dictates behavioral patterns daily.

Causes of Codependency

Codependency can originate in a number of places and through a number of circumstances, although a common point of origin is within the family. The child of an unloving parent often seeks approval, respect, trust and protection well beyond the point of juvenility, and their insecurity manifests into codependency. It’s also possible for a parent to become codependent on their child through internal fear of rejection and loneliness. When it gets to the point where a parent’s condition is getting in the way of them taking care of themselves (and thus taking the best possible care of the child) it becomes a dangerous psychiatric problem. While family problems are popular incubators for codependent issues, other causes include:

• -Low self-esteem
• -Fierce insecurity
• -Internal concern with the opinions of others
• -Abuse
• -Sexual Molestation

Treatment for Codependency

A person’s recovery from codependence can best be achieved through long-term psychiatric therapy. The exploration of the root of one’s codependency is essential in figuring out how to treat it. Oftentimes patients don’t know the root of their codependency and only wind up finding out through focused analysis. A codependent person essentially lives for someone else. What they don’t realize is that, by continuing their pattern of behavior, they're only damaging the relationship they’re trying to maintain. If you or someone close to you is locked in a codependent relationship, call us now. The National Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Information Center (NASAIC) maintains a continuously updated national database of the leading codependency treatment centers in the United States.