enmeshment

3 Characteristics of Dysfunctional Families

Unspoken Family Rules: Don’t Talk, Don’t Trust, Don’t Feel Rigid family rules and roles develop in dysfunctional families that help maintain the dysfunctional family system and allow family members to continue mistreating each other. Understanding some of the characteristics of dysfunctional families can help us break free of these patterns and rebuild our self-esteem and …

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4 Signs Your Boundaries are too Weak or too Rigid

Are your boundaries too weak or too rigid? Either can cause problems. In this article, you’ll learn the difference between weak, rigid, and healthy boundaries–and how to set better boundaries. What is a healthy boundary? Most of us are familiar with the concept of boundaries. Boundaries serve as limits, telling others how we want to …

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man multitasking under pressure

Setting boundaries doesn’t come easily or naturally to a lot of people, but you can learn to set healthy boundaries.  I’m going to share ten tips that I find helpful. Boundaries are limits that we set to protect our time, energy, and physical and emotional wellbeing. Boundaries are a way to tell others what we …

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Having needs doesn't make you needy

Everyone has needs — for love, attention, affirmation, touch, and so forth. And some of our needs are met in relationships with others. There’s a big difference between having needs and being needy. Read more to understand the difference between having needs and being needy.  Overcoming codependency and poor boundaries requires us to notice and …

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woman thinking

Detaching with love helps codependents and enablers. When we detach with love, we stop worrying and interfering and let others take responsibility for themselves. What is detaching with love? Detaching (or detaching with love) is a core component of codependency recovery. If you’re often worried about a loved one, disappointed or upset by their choices, …

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Why it's hard to end codependent relationship

Why is it so hard to end codependent relationships? In this article, we’ll explore why it’s so difficult to leave a codependent relationship (even when you know it’s in your own best interest) and you can start to change codependent patterns and create healthier relationships. Codependency is a hard pattern to break. Even when you’re …

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Enmeshed family

Being close to your family is usually a good thing, but it’s possible to be too close. Enmeshment describes family relationships that lack boundaries such that roles and expectations are confused, parents are overly and inappropriately reliant on their children for support, and children are not allowed to become emotionally independent or separate from their …

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