If you have recognized that you are in a codependent relationship, you may be questioning how you arrived at this place. Or, perhaps you have come to the conclusion that this is a recurring pattern and wish to make positive changes and end the negative cycle. Counseling is an opportunity to examine one’s life and determine how such dysfunctional dynamics begin – and it can teach you how to avoid them in the first place.
As an anxiety therapist like our friends at Lotus Wellness Center can explain, breaking this negative cycle is often very difficult when one was raised in a dysfunctional family and codependency has always been a way of life. In fact, it may have even fit your survival needs under certain circumstances.
Rather than beating yourself up over how your life has evolved into what it is now, it can be significantly more productive to determine future goals and work toward them. A counselor can teach you the tools needed to make such positive changes. The benefits gained from a series of therapy sessions can last a lifetime.
Addiction and Codependency
When a child is raised in an environment where addiction or mental illness is present, whether it is a sibling or one or both parents, codependency may arise from a need to survive under such terrible circumstances. The child may become the parent in order to ensure that the lights stay on and dinner is placed on the table.
In the meantime, the child’s needs, fears, feelings, and happiness are often cast aside and it is not until adulthood that they realize what they have been missing throughout their life. They may not even have the words as a grown person to express their feelings of sorrow, rage, depression, anxiety, or other emotions. Their behaviors may even mimic their parents’, since that is what they were taught while growing up.
It is not unusual for the children of addicts or the mentally ill to develop the same condition as they enter into adulthood. In fact, their very own partnerships or marriages may be extraordinarily similar to that of their parents’. Thankfully, there is a high likelihood of breaking this cycle when the person recognizes that their behavior is not healthy and is not making them happy.
If they desire change enough, they have a very good chance of creating a positive future in their own life. For many, this begins with seeing a counselor who specializes in treating clients who are codependent.
Counseling for Codependent Individuals
In addition to individual counseling, couples as well as group counseling is available for those who may need it. Some persons elect to start with one approach, then branch off into another. Attending more than one form of counseling can also be effective.
For those who wish to end patterns of codependent behaviors, a counselor can help them to recognize those behaviors and also what may trigger them. Learning coping skills to handle those triggers in order to formulate different approaches to situations can greatly influence the outcome and create a positive change. And because even positive changes are scary to many people, having the support of a counselor while working through them can be of tremendous benefit.
To learn more about counseling services, contact a specialist today.