I’ve heard the term before and I thought I knew what it meant. I was for certain I was in no way, shape or form, a representation of it. And then I found myself in the library with my shiny new library card. Books of all shapes and sizes. I was drawn to the book sale area and that word stared right at me. CODEPENDENT. Since I have currently found myself awakened out of a slumber of recent trivial denial, I decided to thumb through the book to the page listing the characteristics of codependency (to confirm I was far from the definition) and much to my surprise all that was missing was my picture.

How do you know if you’re codependent? And how do you fix it?

“If concern has turned into obsession; if compassion has turned into care-taking; if you are taking care of other people but not yourself—you may be in trouble with codependency” (Beattie, p. 53).

“Recovery is not only fun, it is simple. It is not always easy but it is simple. It is based on the premise many of us have forgotten or never learned: Each person is responsible for him- or herself. It involves learning one new behavior that we will devote ourselves to: taking care of ourselves” (Beattie, p. 54).

The book is awesome. I highly suggest it.

Beattie, M. (1992). Codependent no more: how to stop controlling others and start caring for yourself. Center City: Hazelden. (Original work published 1987)

No time for the book?

Check this link out: http://www.wikihow.com/Tell-if-You-Are-Codependent