03/30/2026
Codependency rarely announces itself. It tends to look like love, deep care, loyalty, always being there. It only starts to feel different when you notice that your emotional state has become almost entirely dependent on another person's, that their problems have become your responsibility, and that somewhere in all of that you've stopped existing as a separate person.
The defining feature of codependency isn't how much you love someone. It's that the relationship has consumed the parts of you that exist outside it. Your needs, your identity, your ability to tolerate their struggle without making it yours to solve.
You can love someone deeply and still remain your own person. That distinction is everything.
