It’s what makes us human.
Empathy allows us to form bonds and have awareness beyond our individual perspective.
In those moments, you’re experiencing empathy.
But there’s another unhealthy behavior we often confuse for empathyand that’scodependency.
Codependency is different from empathy because there is a lack of authentic self.
A “self” is our internalized perception or sense of who we are in the world.
Simply, it is how we think about ourselves and is a source of self-esteem.
Because of our past experiences, many of us do not develop a stable sense of what makes usus.
Let’s say we had a critical, perfectionist mother.
to receive her love, we had to appear a certain way and keep things perfectly clean.
Subconsciously, the message is “I am not worthy to receive love unless I am perfect.”
If we have not healed from those attachments, we will carry the same behaviors into our adult relationships.
At the core of codependency is the inability to regulate our own emotions.
Codependency can manifest in many ways.
Empathy is different from codependency in that we have a solid sense of self.
How people respond to us is not an indication of who we are.
When another person is having an emotional experience, empathy allows us to hold space.
We can be fully present and listen.
While we have good intentions, this makes those around us feel not seen or heard.
If you feel as if you’re codependent, don’t panic.
Societytells usthat empathy means not having boundaries, sacrificing ourselves, and engaging in people-pleasing.
True empathy means having clear boundaries around what we will and will not accept.
It allows us to understand why someone does something while also holding people accountable for their behavior.
