Publisher's Synopsis
The meaning of codependency has changed over time to be more inclusive. It grew in meaning to keep up with the challenging changes of life. Codependents can still be very misunderstood by society. Sometimes, being confused with narcissism, or other personality disorders can cause the codependent to think that they are someone they are not. While everyone shows codependent behaviors from one time to another, people who grow up in dysfunctional families can show the signs of codependency throughout their whole lives. If a codependent is in denial about their destructive behavior, they can pass it down to their children. If the child who became codependent because of their parents realizes their behavioral pattern and its effects, they can seek help to break the cycle.
Codependency is a learned behavior, not something that is ''just how they are'." It can definitely be overcome. A person needs to stop denying the harm their own behavior is causing them, and accept it as a problem in order to start getting better. Codependency can become an addiction for some people. Codependents usually have low self-esteem which makes them seek validation from others. This need for approval can become addicting really fast. A lack of self-worth makes the codependent believe that they are not good enough, and compare themselves to everyone. All of this becomes a vicious, damaging cycle for the codependent as they sink deeper and deeper into their addiction of needing to be needed.
It is not rare to find a codependent relationship. Everyone knows a couple of relationships where one partner seems to be more into the other one and tries to gain their love and care by fulfilling their needs. They try to control their partner's behavior by manipulation techniques so subtle, and the partner won't notice. They need control because they don't feel in control of their own lives. Codependents do not have an established sense of self. They base their personality on whomever they are with to get that person to love them. The lack of self, as well as the other symptoms of codependency, creates a lot of negative effects in the codependent's life in the long-term.
Codependents are often so focused on their partner's needs and wants that they forget to take care of their own. Having learned that doing things for themselves was selfish from a young age, they put everyone else's needs before theirs. They might not have many friends because they spend so much time trying to gain control of their partner's lives; they are exhausted. They might jump from one job to another since they can't prioritize their work over their relationship.Unresolved codependent patterns can cause a person to develop a drug addiction, alcoholism, other forms of addictions, disordered eating behaviors, and other self-destructive behaviors. It is important for a person to become aware of their actions and feelings before it is too late to prevent them from developing codependency anorexia, or other problematic conditions. That said, this book covers the following:
- Core of co-dependency
- Signs of codependency
- Advantages and disadvantages of co-dependency
- Types of codependent behavior
- Codependents and their personalities
- The habits of codependent individuals
- Codependency and boundaries
- Narcissist as a co-dependency magnate
- Codependency in the workplace
- Improving your co-dependent life
- Changing a codependent relationship
- Conquering codependency
- Moving on with your life
- Common misconceptions about co-dependency... AND MORE!
