Emotional Dependency: What it Looks Like and How to Overcome

Being in a relationship might have its own perks in terms of receiving emotional support. Emotional dependency is when someone believes they need another person to be happy or to feel complete.

Emotional dependence is a psychological state in which the emotionally dependent person cannot bear to be alone and the physical or emotional distance with their partner represents symptoms of stress and anxiety. Emotionally dependent people needs a constant attention, approval, and support because they are unable to give it to themselves.

Dependent people have an extreme fear of being not good enough, which comes from their deep-rooted childhood traumas and disappointments. Some attachment styles can play a part in emotional dependence, such as a lack of secure attachment to parents and family.

Just like any other mental health disorder, emotional dependence is often difficult to detect due to the absence of physical symptoms. One way to find out is to start asking yourself questions like; do you feel empty and alone inside unless your partner gives you attention and validation? Do you have expectations that your partner has to meet for you to feel loved and safe?

Signs of Emotional Dependency in a Relationship Include:

• Constant need for reassurance .
• Fear of abandonment .
• Jealousy and possessiveness .
• Sacrificing personal goals.
• Inability to make decisions independently .
• Emotional highs and lows.
• Feeling lost or incomplete without their partner .

Emotionally dependent people usually need a lot of reassurance and support from their partners. They might regularly ask things such as; do you love me? Do you really want to spend time with me? You don’t want to break up, right? This feeling of insecurity and self-doubt results in you needing their approval to feel good about yourself. In addition, emotionally dependent people have an obsessive need to be attached to other people which leads to an obsessive fear of losing love.

Here Are Some Ways That Emotional Dependency Can Affect a Relationship:

• Strain on the partner
• Lack of independence
• Imbalance in the relationship
• Loss of intimacy
• Codependency
• Risk of abuse

when you experience any emotional distress, usually when your needs are not met, it can affect your mental health and lead to panic attacks. If you are having constant thoughts and worries about where your relationship is going and whether your partner’s feelings are changing for you can make you feel uneasy and anxious. When you are not taking responsibility for your own feelings and are unable to define your own worth, you end up depending on others. This state is nothing but being a victim of others’ choices.

A lot of neediness stems from difficult events that happened during childhood or adolescence. Remembering past events and how you reacted to those memories creates a vicious cycle. You don’t want to be stuck in that. Identify these incidents for a better understanding of how you ended up in this state of helplessness and emotional dependency. It only hinders you to move forward.

Read my other article : Top 6 Self Love Habits That Will Change Your Life