HEALTH

Do you suffer from emotional dependency? Watch out for these signs

Emotional dependency is considered a new type of 'addiction' and, like many others, inevitably compromises the quality of life.

Those who suffer from emotional dependency enter into the perspective of not being able to live with a certain person and not being able to live without a certain person and are subject to processes that are quite similar to those of, for example, drug addiction.

Learning to recognise the signs of emotional dependency is the first step to being able to recover from it and improve one's life.

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What is emotional dependency
Emotional dependency is considered a new type of 'addiction' and, like many others, inevitably compromises the quality of life. Those who suffer from emotional dependency enter into the 'cannot live with a certain person' and 'cannot live without a certain person' and are subject to processes that are quite similar to those of, for example, drug addiction. Learning to recognise the signs of emotional dependency is the first step to being able to recover from it and improve one's life.
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Typical behaviors of those suffering from emotional dependency
When suffering from emotional dependency, there are mainly two behaviors that the dependent person tends to engage in: romantic fantasies help alleviate the sense of loneliness and fear of rejection since they create a kind of artificial eternal happiness; attachment, which curbs the fear of being abandoned.
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The difficulties of those suffering from emotional dependency
People who suffer from emotional dependency often exhibit these kinds of difficulties: they are unable to make decisions unless they are reassured or counseled; they cannot disagree with others; they cannot complete projects and activities to do independently; they tend to take the blame and responsibility even when it is not theirs; they tend to be unable to create and defend their own space.
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The initial stages
For those suffering from emotional dependency, love is like a kind of drug. When in the initial stage of falling in love, for example, the affective addict experiences euphoria, withdrawal, tolerance and both physical and psychological dependence, with frequent relapses. Over time, these behaviors can also come to generate anxiety and depression.
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Symptoms of emotional dependency
For those suffering from emotional dependency: self-esteem depends on partner's approval, partner's emotions are more important than one's own, fear of being abandoned leads to accepting certain situations just to avoid being alone or having rejection, one's own time is used to control the partner.
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