Supporting Articles.

What if someone asks you, “Who are you?” The automatic response is to provide your name and occupation. You believe you have answered the question by providing your name and the nature of your work. Often the answer is not who you are but what you do. Many people struggle to answer the question “Who are you?” because they don’t know themselves. There is a deeper level of self-identity that is rooted in the truth of who you truly are, your authentic self. Your authentic self is the sum of all your skills, talents, and wisdom, and it extends beyond what you do for a living, what possessions you own, who you are to someone, or what you do for a living.

If you have co-dependent traits, you’re probably wondering how in the world you can change these patterns and stop being co-dependent. Co-dependency, like life, occurs along a continuum. Most people are taught that there are two choices in life-the right way and the wrong way.

When people acknowledge that they may have codependent characteristics, they often begin to wonder how these co-dependent tendencies originated. Why do some people feel insecure in all of their relationships? What causes co-dependency? Why is it so difficult to break free from co-dependent relationships? While the answers aren’t the same for everyone, it begins in childhood for most people.

Co-dependent relationships can have an impact on our families, children, friends, and relatives, as well as our businesses and careers, health, and spiritual growth. Co-dependency, if left untreated, can be debilitating and cause us to be more destructive to ourselves and others.

Co‐Dependents Anonymous (CoDA) has put together this list of patterns to help you evaluate whether you display symptoms of codependency. You don’t need to have them all to qualify as codependent. These personality characteristics are cognitive, emotional, and behavioural patterns that impact an individual’s ability to have a healthy, mutually satisfying relationships with yourself and other people.

Do find yourself making lots of sacrifices for other people’s happiness, but not getting much in return? Do you find yourself people pleasing, setting poor boundaries, having low self-esteem, love addiction, staying in abusive relationships, or helping people at the expense of yourself? If so, you could be struggling with codependency.