Do you often put others’ needs above your own, even if it negatively affects your well-being? Do you struggle with setting healthy boundaries or do you rely on external validation to measure your self-worth? These could be signs of a codependent relationship, which can have a serious impact on your mental and emotional health. The good news? You are not alone, and there is help out there with treatment for codependency.
Integrative Life Center is a small, licensed, and accredited mental health and addiction treatment provider that offers a full continuum of care, including residential treatment, partial hospitalization, intensive outpatient program (IOP), and outpatient services. Let’s learn more about codependency treatment in Nashville, TN.
Codependent Relationships
Being in a codependent relationship can manifest in so many ways. In short, a codependent relationship is one in which one person in a relationship becomes overly reliant on the other person to meet their emotional, physical, or financial needs. Here’s how it might look across some types of relationships.
- Romantic relationships: When one partner is overly concerned with seeking validation or approval from the other, or they are excessively jealous or insecure, or they devalue themselves to please their partner.
- Parent-child relationships: parent rescues child from difficult things frequently, parent doesn’t set good boundaries, or child rescues parent frequently, or some combination of these dynamics.
- Friendships: If one friend is in the habit of regularly leaning on the other for support and advice. He or she might not be taking enough responsibility for their own life and decisions.
Although there is nothing wrong with relying on others in our community for help and support, when this turns into codependency either party will not have the ability to develop self-sufficiency and independence.
Recognizing the Signs of Codependency
Codependency is a negative cycle of behavior that can negatively affect a person’s mental and emotional well-being, leading to anxiety, depression, and low self-esteem. Here are some of the signs:
- Overcare: Tending to someone else’s welfare at the expense of your own.
- Boundaries: A lack of boundaries and difficulty with setting and maintaining healthy boundaries, feeling resentful or exhausted.
- Low self-esteem: Seeking validation and self-worth from others instead of cultivating it from within.
- Fear of abandonment: Desperately seeking reassurance and validation, afraid you will be abandoned if you assert your independence.
- Enabling behaviors: Reasoning with or enabling the destructive habits of others to preserve the relationship, whether by enabling addiction or bad habits.
It is important to recognize how codependency can present and to understand how the best codependency treatment facilities can help. Working with a therapist or counselor who specializes in trauma informed care can be a vital part of the process of developing your boundaries, increasing your self-worth, and building a life that is more full and balanced. If you think you might be codependent, the first step is noticing it.
Taking Action Against Codependent Behavior
It can be incredibly difficult to leave behind the confines of codependency, but with the right help, you can build and maintain healthier relationships with others in your life. If you’re dealing with codependency in a marriage, friendship, parenting, or family of origin, it is possible to take care of yourself, too. Here are some tips:
- Seek out a trauma-informed counselor or therapist who can help you identify patterns and behaviors that are perpetuating the codependency.
- Be mindful of your behavior in the relationship and pay attention to the signs of codependency.
- Set healthy boundaries, communicate your needs and desires, and say no instead of always following every request.
- Expect resistance from the other person when you set boundaries and maintain them to care for yourself and your relationship.
- Take care of yourself by encouraging and promoting your inner growth, such as exercise, meditation, journaling, or spending time with supportive friends and family.
In doing so, you can make your relationship more healthy, balanced, and secure, where you both feel acknowledged and respected. Co-dependency isn’t easy to break free from, and making lasting change often requires a great deal of time and effort. However, it’s entirely possible to develop healthier, more balanced, and more fulfilling relationships, if you take the time and effort to support yourself and each other on this journey.
Finding Support from Codependent Relationships at ILC in Nashville, TN
At ILC, we understand codependency treatment and offer a holistic approach to healing. Here’s how we can help.
- Individual Therapy: A codependent individual needs to develop healthy coping skills and an understanding of the reasons behind their relationship patterns. Our compassionate psychotherapists will create a treatment plan that meets their needs, including addressing intimacy disorder with personalized intimacy disorder treatment.
- Group Support: Attend group therapy sessions to build a support network and connect with others who are going through similar experiences.
- Family Dynamics: We facilitate family therapy sessions for you to be able to talk and listen to each other, heal wounds, release shame, and restore relationships.
- A Holistic Approach: We take care of the whole person – mind, body, and spirit. You will reconnect with yourself through mindfulness practices, yoga expressive arts therapies, and self-compassion.
If you or someone you know is struggling in a codependent relationship, you should know that help is available. ILC is one of the top codependency treatment centers and can give you the guidance and holistic treatment you need to heal and empower yourself. Acknowledging and seeking codependency treatment is a first step to restoring your power and well-being, and breaking free from codependent relationships to create healthier, more empowered relationships with yourself and others. ILC is here to help you on your path to healing and transformation. Call us today at (615) 891-2226 to begin taking the steps toward the life you deserve.
