Codependency involves sacrificing one’s personal needs to try to meet the needs of others. Someone who is codependent has an extreme focus outside themselves. Their thoughts and actions revolve around other people, such as spouses or relatives.

Codependency often appears in relationships which are unbalanced and unhealthy. A person with codependency often tries to save others from themselves. They may get hurt trying to “cure” a partner’s addictions or abusive behaviors.

Codependency does not qualify as a mental health diagnosis mostly because the symptoms are so widely applicable. Yet it can still cause severe distress. Codependency may lead a person to develop other mental health concerns such as anxiety.  A therapist can help a person reduce codependent behaviors and develop healthier relationships.

Article "Codependency" from goodtherapy.org

https://www.goodtherapy.org

1. Seek therapy-

Therapy is one effective way of dealing with shame because it enables you to perceive whatever is causing you shame in an objective and healthy manner. Therapy enables you to overcome shame that is not only caused by other people’s behavior, but also that which is brought about by negative emotions you hold about yourself. Admittedly, shame tends to affect every area of your life, and talking to a therapist would help you deal with it. In addition, therapy helps you to address feelings of shame, which include but are not limited to self blame, inferiority, worthlessness, and to heal from the negative effects of shame, which include anxiety, depression, anger, just to mention, but a few. 

2. Recognize the physical signs of shame-

Recognizing how a shameful experience feels like physically enables you to be more aware and to be deliberate in how you choose to respond to it. The physical symptoms of shame feel more like those of a panic attack, and learning to recognize them can go a long way in enabling you to deal with shame in a more positive and intentional manner because you are able to pause and reflect on your shame triggers. 

3. Self compassion-

Compassion is considered to be the best antidote or neutralizer of shame. Additionally, self compassion is a great remedy for self criticism, which is often common if you are going through intense shameful experiences. Self compassion is known to trigger the release of oxytocin, and this hormone tends to increase feelings of safety, trust, connectedness, as well as calmness. Self compassion enables you to cultivate feelings of worthiness, and it is all about been able to treat yourself with love and a lot of respect. It is important to note that self compassion makes it easy for you to be able to share your feelings of shame.

Finding Your Voice

Having the strength to share about your shameful experiences that you’ve hid for years becomes easier when you first and foremost stop criticizing yourself and secondly, when you understand that you are not alone. What’s more, it is important to understand that empathy acts as a great antidote for shame, and empathic responses from those whom you open up to can help you to overcome the painful feeling of shame.

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NAMI Indiana has published a booklet on "Preparing for and Responding to a Mental Health Crisis."  for use.

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Connect with a trained crisis counselor to receive free, 24/7 crisis support via text message.

National Domestic Violence Hotline – Call 800-799-SAFE (7233)

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National Sexual Assault Hotline – Call 800-656-HOPE (4673)

Connect with a trained staff member from a sexual assault service provider in your area that offers access to a range of free services. Crisis chat support is available at Online Hotline. Free help, 24/7.

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One thing that can be said about the narcissist is that they constantly try to seek validation from other people. A lot of people who become narcissistic usually experience painful events during their childhood that eventually lead to their constant need to seek validation.

The empath can be considered the healer. They have the ability to sense if there is any person who is suffering from any type of pain. They take the pain and experience the pain of others. If the empathy does not know what they are doing, they are going to suffer because they will feel the pain again and again as they are unable to protect themselves. The empath may form bonds with the narcissist so that they can take away whatever pain the narcissist is experiencing.

In fact, narcissists may draw the soul and life out of people they come in contact with.

As empaths don’t fully understand that not everyone is like them, this dynamic may debilitate and confuse them. Empaths often put themselves in other people’s shoes. They also try to sense what others are thinking, intending and feeling, while forgetting that others might be dishonest.

On the contrary, narcissists are great manipulators, so that they try to rise above others and exercise control.

This means that the more affection and love empaths give, the stronger the narcissists become. This also means that the empaths may probably become the victim. Then, they begin to take on narcissistic traits because they also become wounded.

The moment that the narcissist senses that there is a change in the empath, that the empath is wounded, this will be enough for them to keep the person down. The empath will always show that he is unhappy and this will be enough to make the narcissist take more control, more power in order to validate his worth.

The empath will forget about all things that are related to the positive aspect of life. They will be obsessed with the pain that he is feeling. They will focus on the abuse and the trauma that he is enduring. Instead of trying to break away the connection with the narcissist, they will try their best to become validated which will never happen. The only thing that an empath can do in order to find himself again is to sever the ties with the narcissistic person.

Trying to communicate with a narcissist is useless, since they don’t try to heal and help out anyone else. What’s more, they are also very manipulative and charismatic, and may turn their negativity towards other people.

An empath should understand at this point that the relationship is going nowhere. It is nearly impossible to build a relationship with a narcissist. The empath will feel insecure and unloved. The empath has the choice to blame the destructive relationship on another person, continue to become the victim or to love themselves so they can break away. Finding the courage to get out of the relationship can be hard though and it will take a lot of guts and perseverance to do so.

They have the choice to stay a pawn in the game of the narcissist, the victim, or find a way to get out of it.

The more the empaths learn about the personality of the narcissists, they are less likely to develop a relationship. In case a relationship is already developed, it is never too late to get out of it.

It is important to understand that most narcissists don’t want to change. Therefore, if you wait around for anything to happen, it is a complete waste of time.

That’s not all, the narcissists may probably get out of the relationship once they realize that they are not able to control the empaths anymore.