Codependency in its simplest definition is when one person in a relationship has an excessive psychological reliance on their partner to make him/her feel happy, loved, accepted, valued and good about themselves.
In 2020 we have this false notion that we should just BE. Like…voila, I am. Voila, I am a college graduate. Voila, I am married. Voila, I have a healthy and loving relationship with myself. But, that’s not how life works. Especially when it comes to love, even loving ourselves.
I’m so happy to share part two of our relationship series on how to have winning relationships. Last week I shared about ’emotional bids’, the fundamental unit of how we seek out connection with others. (If you haven’t read Part One of the series you can check it out here.)
To refresh your memory, we talked about verbal bids (questions, invitations) and nonverbal bids for connection (hugs, gestures and facial expressions, smiles etc.) In this post, I’d like to talk a little bit about how we respond to bids for connection. Because how we respond to others can serve to either help our relationships, or hurt them. Check out these three responses to bids.
So, it’s the month of February and many people have nothing but LOVE or relationships on their minds. But truth be told, forming AND maintaining healthy, thriving and emotionally meaningful relationships with others is not all roses. 🌹🥀 It requires strong social-emotional skills AND an unwavering commitment.