In a world full of co-dependents why do I keep forgetting that most of us suffer from this emotional outlay at some point in our lives!! According to Wikipedia the definition of co-dependency is excessive emotional or psychological reliance on a partner, typically one with an illness or addiction.  One of my favorite authors on this subject is Melody Beattie.   And because you’re co-dependent or exhibit these characteristics now and then does not mean that you don’t have a brain. In fact, some of  people  who are recovering from being in co-dependent relationships are  the brainiest people I know!  It’s easier for me to swallow the bitter pill of acceptance about my behavior if it is balanced out with something good!

In recognizing the signs of co-dependency in myself and others, I came up with Lynn’s list of co-dependent traits—better known as You Might Be Co-Dependent if.,,

1.  You might be co-dependent if you still think your crazy me-focused ex-spouse is going to remember your tight schedule and show up as they promised.

2. You might be co-dependent if you find yourself surrounded by people who you think you need to “rescue” from their lives.

3.  You might be co-dependent if you decide to stay home to argue about what to watch on television instead of going to a celebration for a friend.

4.  You might be co-dependent if you worry that other people are thinking about you half as much as you are thinking about yourself.

5.  You might be co-dependent if you do for someone else something that you’d really like to do for yourself but don’t because they’re more important than you.

6.  You might be co-dependent if you worry about embarrassing the dogs when dancing your heart out as you clean!

7.  You might be co-dependent if you worry that the Monterrey Oak tree is going to feel slighted because you watered the Pin Oak first.

8.  You might be co-dependent if you gauge your every move by how someone else is going to react/respond.

9.  You might be co-dependent if you take a job just because someone thought it’d be a good fit for you.

10.  You might be co-dependent if you alter your life’s desire because of other people’s opinions.

I bring this up for our consideration  because it seems no matter how long and hard we work on ourselves, some things are always going to be on the spiral path of our growth.  Sooooobe good to yourself today.  Think about what makes you happy and find ways to do that for yourself without feeling like you have to get permission, acceptance or inclusion from somebody else.

Working towards interdependency!