advertisement
Reply
Thread Tools Display Modes
88Butterfly88
Moderator
Community Support Team
 
88Butterfly88's Avatar
 
Member Since Dec 2015
Location: New Jersey
Posts: 54,298 (SuperPoster!)
8
10.5k hugs
given
PC PoohBah!
Default Feb 04, 2017 at 12:53 PM
  #1
What's the difference? Pdoc says I'm codependent on my mother. I didn't receive any sort of diagnosis so I don't know what to think.

__________________
"Although the world is full of suffering, it is also full of the overcoming of it.”

– Helen Keller
88Butterfly88 is offline   Reply With QuoteReply With Quote

advertisement
bronzeowl
Poohbah
 
bronzeowl's Avatar
 
Member Since Jun 2011
Location: North Carolina
Posts: 1,013
13
287 hugs
given
PC PoohBah!
Default Mar 05, 2017 at 12:08 PM
  #2
Codependency means you rely on a person. This can be because of illness (physical or mental), and in fact usually is. Have you been diagnosed with anything else (anxiety, depression, PTSD, etc)? If so, maybe he means your illness makes you codependent on her. It's not uncommon for people with mental illness to be codependent. It doesn't necessarily mean they feel like they can't survive otherwise, though. It basically just means they struggle to (as in have a hard time finding a job because of their symptoms, have a hard time shopping because of symptoms, etc).

Whereas with dependent personality disorder we feel we literally can't survive without the person whom we depend on. With us, there is often a deep seated fear of losing this person. Many of us may jump from relationship to relationship to avoid having to be independent. Being independent feels like an impossible task. I often fear losing my partner, because I'm terrified that I won't be able to support myself. I am not only codependent on him, but I feel like I literally need him.

Make sense?

__________________
Love is..
a baby smiling at you for the first time
a dog curling up by your side...
and your soulmate kissing your forehead
when he thinks you're sound asleep




OSFED|MDD/PPD|GAD|gender dysphoria|AvPD
bronzeowl is offline   Reply With QuoteReply With Quote
 
Hugs from:
HD7970GHZ, RainyDay107
 
Thanks for this!
88Butterfly88, giddykitty, RainyDay107
88Butterfly88
Moderator
Community Support Team
 
88Butterfly88's Avatar
 
Member Since Dec 2015
Location: New Jersey
Posts: 54,298 (SuperPoster!)
8
10.5k hugs
given
PC PoohBah!
Default Mar 11, 2017 at 08:02 PM
  #3
Thank you bronze, makes sense. I do have multiple disorders so it's probably just regular codependency.
88Butterfly88 is offline   Reply With QuoteReply With Quote
intergalactictraveler
Member
 
intergalactictraveler's Avatar
 
Member Since Mar 2013
Location: Florida/Space Coast
Posts: 216
11
1 hugs
given
Default Jan 09, 2019 at 09:33 PM
  #4
Quote:
Originally Posted by bronzeowl View Post
Codependency means you rely on a person. This can be because of illness (physical or mental), and in fact usually is. Have you been diagnosed with anything else (anxiety, depression, PTSD, etc)? If so, maybe he means your illness makes you codependent on her. It's not uncommon for people with mental illness to be codependent. It doesn't necessarily mean they feel like they can't survive otherwise, though. It basically just means they struggle to (as in have a hard time finding a job because of their symptoms, have a hard time shopping because of symptoms, etc).

Whereas with dependent personality disorder we feel we literally can't survive without the person whom we depend on. With us, there is often a deep seated fear of losing this person. Many of us may jump from relationship to relationship to avoid having to be independent. Being independent feels like an impossible task. I often fear losing my partner, because I'm terrified that I won't be able to support myself. I am not only codependent on him, but I feel like I literally need him.

Make sense?
Yes, it makes sense. I'm in a somewhat similar situation. My wife & I have been married 23 years; a couple for 26. There were many problems from the time we started dating and I kept trying to 'figure out' what was going on, empathetic and trying to help her understand herself. My bipolar illness re-emerged in 2004 and I went from working full time to part time until I was too sick to even work 10 hours a week. I became dependent on my wife for a roof over my head and couldn't contribute to paying the bills.

From the time we started dating, she was verbally and emotionally abusive and because I was madly in love with her, I tolerated it. Five years ago, in couples therapy, I came to understand that I have a dependent personality but I also had developed learned helplessness and feeling hopeless. She knows it and exploits it. I'm like an indentured servant, not her husband who has an illness. No autonomy nor independence. She calls the shots because she has the money.

I can touch and taste freedom but, even though I receive a monthly Social Security check and have some money in the ban k, I'm so utterly fearful of reclaiming my life and I hate myself for the man I've become.

__________________
Treatment resistant rapid cycling/mixed state/C-PTSD/non-restorative sleep
Barely hanging onto my life.

For sleep:

Calcium Carbonate/Magnesium Carbonate
1 grain of desiccated thyroid(60 mg)

4 grains of desiccated thyroid/a.m.
Rx testosterone injections for low T + several nutritional supplements

Mediterranean style diet/moderate carb, high protein.
intergalactictraveler is offline   Reply With QuoteReply With Quote
 
Hugs from:
HD7970GHZ, Travelinglady
dependentnomore
Junior Member
 
Member Since Apr 2018
Location: Los Angeles
Posts: 10
6
Default Oct 14, 2021 at 12:33 AM
  #5
@Intergalactic traveler: Yes, I know what that's like, i used to live with my Mom and she did everything for me. She thought for me, she kept up with my appointments, she kept up with everything for my car, and she was constantly buying me things. She bought me a chair for my apartment earlier this week. I was raised this way from birth, I never learned how to do anything for myself. I didn't stay there because i was emotionally attached, i stayed there because i couldn't hold a job. Employers hated me when they found out i couldn't do anything for myself. I was misreble at mom's, sometimes my self esteem was so low I couldn't even get out of bed. Finally, in the early '90's, I got a job as a petitioner and moved out and shared an apartment with a friend of mine. Then, in the late '90's, my Dad helped me get on SSI and I moved to California and became a street performer, a job I was really good at. I'm back in Little Rock now and she hasn't learned anything, she still tries to do everything for me. I have my own apartment, though.
dependentnomore is offline   Reply With QuoteReply With Quote
dependentnomore
Junior Member
 
Member Since Apr 2018
Location: Los Angeles
Posts: 10
6
Default Oct 14, 2021 at 08:46 PM
  #6
@:IntergalacticTraveler One more thing, if you're in an abusive relationship, GET OUT!!IWhen I was in therapy, my therapist emphasised that over and over. DON'T LET PEOPLE ABUSE YOU! DON'T STAY IN A RELATIONSHIP WITH AN ABUSIVE PERSON!!I If you have social security and money in the bank, you should get your own place. You should get some books on assertiveness training and you can learn to do things for yourself!
dependentnomore is offline   Reply With QuoteReply With Quote
All times are GMT -5. The time now is 12:27 PM.
Powered by vBulletin® — Copyright © 2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.



 

My Support Forums

My Support Forums is the online community that was originally begun as the Psych Central Forums in 2001. It now runs as an independent self-help support group community for mental health, personality, and psychological issues and is overseen by a group of dedicated, caring volunteers from around the world.

 

Helplines and Lifelines

The material on this site is for informational purposes only, and is not a substitute for medical advice, diagnosis or treatment provided by a qualified health care provider.

Always consult your doctor or mental health professional before trying anything you read here.