Do you ever feel like your happiness gets lost in the shuffle of taking care of others? Do you find yourself in relationships that feel imbalanced? Then you may be dealing with Codependency. Codependency makes it difficult to have healthy and fulfilling relationships and friendships. This isn’t an uncommon issue, but the good news is there is hope for healing. Here are 15 tips to help you heal from codependency and build a happier life.
Educate yourself about codependency.
The more you gain clarity about what amounts to codependency and what’s not, the more you have the power to overcome it. Know the signs and symptoms of codependency and relate them with the one that affects you.
Recognise your codependent behaviours.
Once you educate yourself about codependence, take some time to reflect on your behaviours. Common codependent behaviours are people-pleasing, rescuing, enabling, and having poor boundaries. Think about your problems and start developing a plan to address them.
Challenge your negative thoughts.
Codependency often thrives on negative thinking like low self-esteem, fear of abandonment, and a need for control. After identifying these negative thoughts, challenge them with more positive and realistic thoughts.
Set healthy boundaries
Protect your emotional and physical boundaries after noticing a co-dependency relationship. It is essential for codependency recovery. Boundaries are limits you set for yourself and others to stabilise your emotions and protect your space.
Embrace Self-Compassion and self-care
Codependency often stems from low self-esteem. By practising self-compassion and self-love, you’re ready to beat codependency. It would help if you also learned to treat yourself with the kindness and understanding you offer others.
You can’t pour from an empty cup. That statement simply means that it’s important to make self-care a non-negotiable part of your life so that you can flourish.
You can care for yourself by practising healthy eating habits, regular exercise, relaxation techniques, and engaging in enjoyable activities.
Prioritize Yourself
Focus more on activities that nourish your mind and body. Exercise regularly, eat healthily and get enough sleep. This will ensure you filter negative emotions out of your body and replace them with a positive mindset. Also, learn to make time for yourself and do things you enjoy. Don’t neglect your needs while you care for others.
Build a Support System
Have supportive and positive people around. Those that won’t judge your feelings and hurt your self-esteem further. Make sure you have people who respect boundaries. You can also join a support group to expose yourself to people with similar crises and have a common goal with them.
Build healthy relationships
Codependent people often find themselves in unhealthy relationships. Only relate with people who respect you and are ready to understand your personality.
Develop Healthy Coping Mechanisms
People who struggle with codependence often use unhealthy coping mechanisms like avoidance or substance abuse to deal with complex emotions. Substitute the coping mechanism with healthy practices like exercise, long walks, or journaling.
Forgive yourself
You can’t control the past. You only have the future to make it better. Allow the past hurt and resentment to remain in the past. Forgive yourself for being a codependent person. Instead, make a deliberate effort not to repeat the situation in the future.
Forgive people who have wronged you.
Sometimes, you may realise that your emotions were manipulated for them to gain control over your life. Seeing people that make you question your sanity will keep traumatising you. On your journey to move on, forgive them. However, create clear boundaries with them.
Celebrate Small Wins
Whenever you achieve a milestone in your journey against codependency, acknowledge and celebrate it. That will motivate you to see through the finish line of the healing.
Reconnect with Your Passions
You have a hobby before codependency overtakes your life and wounds your emotions. Embrace the old hobbies or try out new ones. This will enhance your self-esteem and confidence.
Seek Professional Help
Your codependency recovery process may be slow if you’re trying to heal on your own. Engage a professional that can help with the recovery. A professional therapist will give you adequate support and resources needed to fight codependency.
Conclusion
Breaking free from codependency doesn’t happen overnight. So, be patient, celebrate your progress, and never give up on your journey to a happier version of yourself. You are worthy of living a life filled with love, joy, and self-respect. Take the first step today, and start reclaiming your happiness.
