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8 Signs Of A Codependent Friendship & What To Do About It
Not all besties are good for you — just like relationships, friendships can be unhealthy, too. One common characteristic of a toxic friendship is codependency. Here's everything you need to know about what codependent friendships are, how to identify them, and how to heal.
What is codependency in a friendship?
While close friendships are important, codependent friendships are so close that all boundaries have completely melted away. Boundaries define our personal limits, and they help us separate our own needs and feelings from other people's needs and feelings. Without them, friends become "enmeshed" in one another and, yes, dependent on each other. We can usually spot a codependent relationship and why it's unhealthy in romance, but we sometimes forget the same is true in friendship.
"Enmeshment" means that both of you have lost your individual identities to the friendship; you share opinions, emotions, major decisions, and needs. It's impossible to engage in self-care if you're not in touch with your own needs and feelings! And while it's healthy to be able to depend on your friends, it's not healthy or sustainable to rely on one friend to meet all of your needs all the time. Burnout is inevitable.
"We all love our friends. Friendship and human connection is vital for an inspiring, well-rounded, healthy life," Anna Marchenko, LMHC, Ed.M., a therapist at Miami Hypnosis and Therapy, tells mbg. "But when boundaries have slipped, the intensity of one's connection to another can escalate to an unhealthy level for both individuals."
Saba Harouni Lurie, LMFT, therapist and founder of Take Root Therapy, tells mbg that codependent friendships "can take different forms." In addition to a lack of boundaries, they almost always include one telltale characteristic: an "imbalanced power dynamic." Usually there's one person who's always the giver and one who's always the taker.
Signs of a codependent friendship:
One person always needs rescuing.
"It's normal and healthy to sometimes need extra support from your friends—perhaps during a breakup or after losing a job—but if one person always needs rescuing or excusing, it may be a codependent friendship, which lacks a true give-and-take dynamic," Lurie says.
One friend spends a lot of time trying to fix the other friend's problems.
The person who plays the "giver" role in a codependent friendship typically spends a lot of time and energy trying to fix their friend's problems, even at the cost of ignoring their own. They rarely receive the same attentive energy in return from the "taker."
One friend often feels depleted after hanging out.
"Giver" friends often genuinely enjoy listening and helping out. "It can feel really good to help someone or to be understanding, and many people who tend toward codependency like to feel needed or that they are a good person," Lurie says. Still, all that giving takes a toll, and they eventually start to feel emotionally drained after each conversation.
You often put your friend's needs before your own, or vice versa.
This is one of the most "glaring signs" that a friendship is codependent, Marchenko says. Codependent friendships have porous boundaries, so it's easy for one person's needs to overrule. It becomes difficult to even define where one person's needs end and the other person's begin.
If one person is upset, the other person is too.
Codependent friends may also share emotions. If one person becomes upset, the other person experiences the same feelings. This is empathy to the extreme, as your emotions start to become dictated by the moods of your friend instead of coming from within. (Here's the difference between empathy and codependency.)
It's hard to assert individual choices or opinions in the friendship.
Codependent friends eventually end up in a situation of enmeshment, according to Marchenko. It becomes very difficult for the "giver" friend to assert their own needs, choices, or opinions—especially if these differ from the "taker's." They may feel guilty at the mere thought of it.
One or both people rely on the friendship.
When two friends are codependent, they're overly reliant on each other to satisfy each of their needs. The "taker" may rely on the "giver" for emotional support, for example, while the "giver" may rely on the "taker" for a sense of importance and self-esteem. It's good to rely on your friends—but you shouldn't be totally dependent on them for your sense of self or for your emotional stability.
One friend feels jealous if the other person gets close to someone else.
A codependent friendship can involve controlling or jealous behavior. If one friend starts to become close to someone else—like another friend or even a romantic partner—the other person may feel deeply threatened.
What to do if someone is codependent on you:
1. Figure out how you got here.
"If you've realized that most of your friendship is dedicated to your friend's wants and needs and not your own, the first thing to consider is why you gravitated to this situation in the first place," Lurie says. It may have to do with your sense of self-worth and an underlying need to feel important or "good." Often, it's rooted in an old childhood family dynamic. This can be a very deep-rooted habit, so it may be helpful to have a professional therapist there to support you through this journey.
2. Practice putting yourself first.
Establishing boundaries is an ongoing practice. See what it feels like to identify your own needs and wants, communicate them to your friend, and actually prioritize them. If the word "no" isn’t in your vocabulary, now's the time to try saying it.
"This can be really scary because we may fear that they may not want to be our friend anymore if we are not constantly over-giving," Lurie explains. But even though it may feel like an affront to your friend to assert your independence from them, it's actually an act of kindness. Holding people accountable and giving them an opportunity to change is "the more loving choice" than staying quiet for the sake of the status quo, Lurie explains.
3. Be prepared for a major shift.
It is possible that the "taker" friend won't be as interested in the friendship once it becomes balanced. But do you really want a friend like that, anyway? If the friendship is going to truly change, both people have to get on board. "Friendships like these may not be sustainable if both individuals do not commit to understanding each other's needs for boundaries," Marchenko says.
If, on the other hand, your friend is a genuine one, then they'll be more than happy to adjust to a new, healthier friendship dynamic. They'll even be excited about it—because it means they get to learn more about the real you.
What to do if you're codependent on a friend:
1. Recognize the issue.
A codependent friendship can be turned into a healthy one, but the first step is for at least one person to realize that there's a problem—even if the other person doesn't see it. After all, you can't control your friend's behavior, but you can control your own. That's Boundaries 101.
"If you've realized that your friend is often giving more than they take or that your friendship tends to revolve around you, first understand that your friend may not think that there's anything wrong," Lurie says. "We often take on roles that feel most comfortable for us, and your friend 'disappearing' into their role may be something they're doing unconsciously."
2. Learn how to take care of yourself.
Healthy friendships don't require one person to be perpetually on-call as a sounding board or problem-solver. Instead of over-relying on your friend, you can practice boundaries by taking more responsibility for your own needs. Take care of yourself by journaling, expanding your support system, and practicing solo activities.
If you find this shift difficult, it's wise to seek professional therapy for help, Marchenko advises.
3. Give more, take less.
Disrupt the codependent pattern by giving more and taking less. Lurie advises, "You might ask your friend more questions about themselves, making sure to inquire about how they're really feeling." Likewise, it's important to learn "how to recognize when [your] very empathetic and loving 'giving' friend is giving too much.
"Most importantly, you could let your friend know that you love and care about them even when they're not doing things for you," Lurie says.
What a healthy friendship looks like.
Unlike codependent friendships, healthy ones have "strong, established boundaries," Marchenko explains. Each person is aware of their needs and desires, and they're free to live their own lives. Moreover, each friend trusts the other person to take care of their own needs—"a true friend will never ask or expect you to sacrifice yourself in order to take care of them," Lurie says. Marchenko adds, "When friends can recognize that they have independent lives separate from the other and still have a warm, trusting connection that fulfills their need for connection (and fun!), then a healthier path for your friendship is possible."
Healthy friendships don't require one person to stay in the "giver" role constantly, Lurie explains. Instead, there's a sense of turn-taking. "In any friendship, there will be times when our friend leans on us for additional support and care, but there will also be times when we need the same thing from them, and they are willing and able to give it," she says. Importantly, there's also accountability for both parties. There is "course correction, where if someone is doing something hurtful to the other person, it can be discussed and resolved."
Nobody's perfect, after all. But with mutual empathy and self-awareness, both friends can care for each other while also caring for themselves.
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