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Women assume many roles throughout their lives – as daughters, sisters, wives, mothers, and grandmothers. Women’s roles have been largely determined by the rules and expectations of culture, religion, and the patriarchy, as well as biology. Have you considered to what extent your roles have ... Views: 1565
Anxiety is apprehension of experiencing fear in the future. The danger feared isn’t imminent and may not even be known or realistic. In contrast, fear is an emotional and physical reaction to a present, known threat. Anxiety is typically characterized by obsessive worry and an inability to ... Views: 1562
Have you been a victim or do you know someone who's a victim of Narcissistic Abuse and Betrayal? Are you getting a Divorce? Do you want to learn more about Codependency and People Pleasing? Learn why havingAuthenticity and Backbone will help you.
Be among the first to see my newest blog ... Views: 1558
Love
In part four of our own more practical Journey to Awakening we discuss Love. On her journey Elizabeth Gilbert finds love in Bali. If you read the book you know that Gilbert’s journey was about finding and defining herself. Until then Gilbert, like many of us, lost herself in her ... Views: 1550
Forgiveness can sometimes feel impossible or even undesirable. Other times, we forgive only to be hurt again and conclude that forgiving was foolish. Both situations arise from confusion about what forgiveness really means. Forgiveness doesn’t require that we forget or condone another’s actions ... Views: 1550
Healthy relationships nourish and support us. Like poison, a toxic relationship is one that is damaging to us. Instead of uplifting us, it makes us feel worse. When it ends, we might experience post-traumatic stress or a lessening of our self-esteem and trust in ourselves and others. Although ... Views: 1548
One characteristic satisfied and successful couples have in common is that they are part of each other’s lives. Duh-ah! I’m sure this does not come as a surprise. The trick though is how the partners are part of each other’s lives.
Partners have difficulties negotiating what this means to ... Views: 1547
You might not have a chance if you keep this up: A tendency to look for weaknesses, gaps, holes, things to improve, deficiencies and the like, and miss the boat on capitalizing on strengths in your relationship. We bring this tendency to how we view our partner and how we relate with them. We ... Views: 1545
Codependency is learned – learned inaccurate information that you’re in some way not enough, that you don’t matter, that your feelings are wrong, or that you don’t deserve respect. These are the false beliefs that most codependents grow up with. They may not have been told these things directly, ... Views: 1543
We all have issues and problems that need to be attended to but it is wrong to put pressure on others to solve your problems or make you feel better. That is your job! Take responsibility for your feelings, for how you value yourself and for what is happening in your life. If something isn’t ... Views: 1540
Time, is undoubtedly a key factor for any healthcare professional in the present demanding scenario. One of the easiest as well as the most effective action plan would be to team up for Medical Transcription services with a service provider that suits your exact needs. Outsourcing the ... Views: 1527
Often times partners share their wondering about how exclusivity, monogamy, and fidelity is possible in a longterm relationship. It is usually the male partners who pose this question when their female counterpart is not present.
I appreciate their honesty, risk and willingness to explore ... Views: 1524
At the time, I couldn't believe it would happen to me. We raised a family, we fought, then made-up, and made plans for our future - together. We didn't always have good times, but I honestly believed we would work through all our problems. We didn't have much money, nor did we go on exotic ... Views: 1517
You can make significant strides in overcoming codependency by developing new attitudes, skills, and behavior. But deeper recovery may involve healing trauma, usually that began in childhood. Trauma can be emotional, physical, or environmental, and can range from experiencing a fire to emotional ... Views: 1509
Passive-aggressive people act passive, but are covertly aggressive. They’re basically obstructionist, and try to block whatever it is you want. Their unconscious anger gets transferred onto you, and you become frustrated and furious. Your fury is theirs, while they may calmly ask, “Why are you ... Views: 1504
Often times couples get so hang up in the business of running their life, attending to their family and other responsibilities, and working that being together, enjoying each other and having fun falls to the way side. This creates a terrible state of affairs where after a while couples forget ... Views: 1501
The Human Condition
Volume 1, Part 01
Have you ever wondered what is the platform for our one and only human experience? I have, for I once destroyed 99.9 percent of my human experience. With one tenth of my experience left, I took the time to learn how to learn from my insecurities. I ... Views: 1497
My favourite recovery author is John Bradshaw. He is the one who introduced me to the idea of the inner child. And he also helped me understand that alcoholism is never a primary illness, but rather it is a secondary disease. Bradshaw believes that the primary illness is co-dependency or as he ... Views: 1491
The problem of relapse remains the major challenge in recovery. Because addiction alters the brain, the recovering addict may deal with drug-related memories, strong drug cravings, and diminished impulse control. This leaves them vulnerable to relapse even years after being ... Views: 1491
When long-awaited sobriety finally arrives, partners expect their past relationship problems will disappear. Often, there is a “honeymoon” period when they’re on their best behavior and reaffirm their love and commitment. After all that they’ve been through together, they have high hopes for a ... Views: 1488
Despite the relief that Craig felt when his wife Sophie did his bookkeeping for his landscape business he was frequently choked with shame. The conflict made him snappy and uninterested in spending leisure time with her. He dreaded going to bed at night because he didn’t want to face his ... Views: 1479
Those with borderline personality disorder (BPD) have an underlying fear of abandonment and often misinterpret interpersonal situations where they end up feeling worthless or mistreated. They can have a distorted sense of self and view of others. The see themselves and others as split, as ... Views: 1471
Breakups can be severely painful. Love stimulates such powerful and pleasurable neuro-chemicals that rejection can feel like withdrawal from a drug. It can compel us to engage in obsessive thinking and compulsive behavior, even in animals. Rejection and breakups are especially hard for ... Views: 1468
One would think that connecting with our partner is an easy feat. After all they are the one person we are supposed to be the most intimate with. This is most often not the case and we are actually not that intimate. I find that couples have a very difficult time connecting, feeling connected ... Views: 1465
Not everyone who takes drugs in an addict or even likely to become one, just as not everyone who drinks alcohol is an alcoholic. In fact here are many who, notwithstanding the campaigns against both indulge in substance abuse. Students are especially fond of acquiring a skin full and making ... Views: 1458
Toxic relationships include relationships with toxic parents. Typically, they do not treat their children with respect as individuals. They won’t compromise, take responsibility for their behavior, or apologize. Often these parents have a mental disorder or have a serious addiction. We all live ... Views: 1454
One version of couples struggling that I come across are couples with partners that are codependent. These are the couples that are stuck in patterns that they can’t seem to break, they have a lot of fighting and drama or complete disconnect (conflict avoiding), they feel they are behind their ... Views: 1450
Co-dependency is defined as the reliance of one person on people for fulfillment of their self-image. When a person needs to have someone else to act as the missing piece for their identity, there is inevitably some type of negative impact of the relationships of the co-dependent person. The ... Views: 1443
Cultivate Your Intimacy!
The hecticness and speediness of today’s pace of life makes it challenging for partners to synchronize, connect and bond. Add to this each partner’s limitations and the journey to Intimacy can feel pretty daunting. It’s no wonder partners ... Views: 1439
Many parents of troubled teens assign 100-percent of the blame for their teen’s troubles to their teenager. They also think shipping them off to a therapeutic boarding school is all they need to do to fix their teen’s behavior. Unfortunately, the task of parenting a troubled teen is not so ... Views: 1436
It was more than twenty five years ago, and it was a day that I will never forget. I had given birth to my second son in the beginning of September. I brought him home to a one bedroom apartment. The bedroom was big, both of my sons slept in there and my husband at the time and I slept on a ... Views: 1431
There is no better way to create wonderful memories and meaning in one’s relationship than with rituals. Rituals are a special way to show love, appreciation and importance for the partners throughout time in the life of the relationship.
Relationships are made up of interactions between two ... Views: 1426
(Note: Bad Boys is a metaphor for toxic partners. Just flip the pronoun to female depending on your relationship).
Bad Boys are everywhere. The corporate office, the gym, your neighborhood, a charity gala or the backyard bbq. Before they end up in your heart and in your bed, it will be in ... Views: 1426
We all experience guilt from time to time. But many of us have a hard time letting go of it and find it difficult to forgive ourselves, even though we may readily forgive others. First of all, it's important to recognize whether our guilt is true or false. Just because we feel guilty, that ... Views: 1423
Mom's set the example for their family. Saying No is a part of setting and holding clear boundaries which make the entire house calmer and smoother because everyone has clarity and knows those boundaries. Always giving in and saying yes to children creates an entitlement monster who are bound to ... Views: 1413
HOW TO ATTRACT EMOTIONALLY HEALTHY PEOPLE
1. Who you think you are is important. Like attracts like. Think about it. Do you like who you are?
2. What you want in a relationship is important, and when you are willing to ask for it, you will be able to create it. But only ask for what you want ... Views: 1409
Since co-dependent relationships are not healthy for you, why is it so hard to extricate yourself? Why is it so difficult to get out of a situation that is harmful to you? Well, we all hate change, even if that change may be for the better. And if you’ve been in a co-dependent relationship your ... Views: 1409
Have you ever met any one who just doesn’t seem to be happy unless they are miserable? Some people are like that. They need a certain amount of drama surrounding them. They are what the medical community calls “crisis oriented”. They are sickly addicted to emotional or physical pain (or ... Views: 1404
Katerina is very conscientious, a hard worker and reliable in all cases.
At work and at home, she can be depended on to get things done. She often stays overtime, usually alone at the office, in order to get her work done.
When she gets home, she immediately immerses herself in cooking, ... Views: 1404
One of my clients is haunted by the memory of a former lover. She wonders how she allowed such a "bad" relationship to go on for so long. Of course she did the best she could with the awareness she had at the time.
But now she has 20/20 hindsight.
We’ve all been in her shoes. We wish we ... Views: 1404
“Being honest may not get you a lot of friends and it will get you the right ones.”
We all have been there! Maybe you had a friend or you know someone now who is in a big DRAMA! The situation keeps getting worse and you can’t believe the stories… affairs, lying, addictions, bills not paid, ... Views: 1395
If you find yourself alone, bored and empty inside during the holidays, then ask God to help you to find your people, your place, your focus and activities. If you are alone, that means that the people surrounding you where you are are not the right friends for you and you have chosen to not ... Views: 1392
I Don’t Like You
by Jim McDonald, LIMC
Who Would I Be Without is the story of a man who asks how rather than why. Specifically, he asks, how am I right now — how am I feeling, thinking, and being in my body—because asking how, rather than why, takes us out of thinking. It frees us to be ... Views: 1392
“Although the push-pull behaviors in our current relationships seem to be triggered by our partner, they are actually a result of old fears we carry from our childhood. “
Anxiety is a normal part of being in an intimate relationship. It usually comes in two forms- the fear of abandonment, ... Views: 1390
Unconditional giving is a state that we all aspire to. We hope to be a giving person without any agendas from the perspective of why we give or what we want in return. Yet, frequently there are emotions at work that we are not aware of that motivate us to over-give to others, be it with our ... Views: 1386
Anger hurts. It’s a reaction to not getting what we want or need. Anger escalates to rage when we feel assaulted or threatened. It could be physical, emotional, or abstract, such as an attack on our reputation. When we react disproportionately to our present circumstance, it’s because we’re ... Views: 1383
While family relationships (or substitute family relationships) are indeed essential for everyone, there are instances in which a relationship can become harmful. There are a number of potential reasons for this to occur in the previously described situation, many of which stem from ... Views: 1382
Throughout my childhood I received consistent messages that demonstrated the power of a dysfunctional family. The disease of my parents and abusers robbed me of my boundaries and individuality – the right to have a self.
Remembering back now, through the years of oppression and sexual abuse, ... Views: 1373
So your loved one finally accepts treatment. A wave of relief washes over the family. There is a glimmer of hope for a future free of the chaos. But the battle isn't over. Treatment is just the beginning. There is no cure for addiction. a good treatment program teaches the addict how to avoid ... Views: 1371
Regain Your Inner Core By Working On Core Issues
The concept of family goes back to the beginning of time. It’s the traditional social system that shapes our inter-personal dynamics and provides the working model for the story we create about ourselves. Of course, we’ve all been children at ... Views: 1367