Windhaven Publishing & Recovery
with their faith on the Lord Jesus Christ." (Alma 37:33)
Codependency
Many people are unfamiliar with the term "codependency," but the phenomenon is a familiar one. We would like to share a few thoughts with you.
Early in the study of alcoholism it was discovered that family members of alcoholics often manifest a number of dysfunctional characteristics of their own, usually as a result of living with addiction. Their fear for the addict or of the addict can twist and distort a loved one’s thinking and cause a ripple effect throughout the entire family system. While the addict is “hung up” on drugs or alcohol, loved ones can become “hung up” on the addict. Many people refer to this phenomenon as codependency.
Even after the addict becomes sober, loved ones may still be trying to deal with their own reactions to the trauma they experienced during the fearful years. Thus loved ones often need to do some recovery work of their own. The following thoughts might prove helpful to those who have lived or still live with addiction.
For more, read the rest of the rest of this article, To the Family of the Addict
We think you will also find the following articles by Colleen Harrison helpful:
What it Means to Be Codependent
Understanding Codependency from a Gospel Perspective