Looking for Codependent Help on the Web?

Before seeking help with conquering codependency, you must first understand the condition and identify if you really have a problem with it. Codependency is defined as a group of behaviors related to the idea of excessive care taking. While loving someone too much should not be reason for concern, showing love in obsessive ways can burden an otherwise healthy relationship. What are some symptoms of codependency to look for?

Codependency involves avoiding stress and stabilizing relationships at any costs. Controlling behavior is one of the most common symptoms of a codependent relationship. While some relationships do have dominant partners, codependent controlling is motivated by distrust, perfectionism and fear. The codependent personality avoids stress and thus avoids feelings and intimacy. Instead, he or she becomes a caretaker, whether emotionally or physically, and may be very vigilante in the role. However, once the subject starts to exercise independent thought, the codependent may feel the relationship is being threatened.

Additional symptoms to look out for include physical illness resulting from stress, clinical depression and deep feelings of frustration, especially regarding the behavior of others. The codependent must learn that keep a respectable distance from a loved one, if that person feels crowded. This can be a problem in many relationships, particularly parents and grown children, as well as romantic relationships between partners. Is there help available for codependent personalities?

There are online resources that offer information on how to stop being codependent, as well as codependency 12 step programs. Codependency 12 steps are actually what originated the definition of codependency, since it is still a term that is debated in the psychiatric community. You can find a codependent no more book at the website HowToBeSaneWhenLifeIsnt.com. This website offers tips on handling codependent relationships, from the point of view of the codependent as well as the family member.