Emotional dependence usually has clear signs, but in most cases, those who have it cannot see them. Have you ever felt overwhelmed by the feeling that you can’t live without someone else?
Generally, an emotionally dependent person projects all his expectations on another and starts to depend on others to feel happy, capable, make decisions, and even to feel loved. Jealousy, control, and possessiveness are indicators of this dependence.
Several experts, such as psychologists and family therapists, claim that this addiction causes love to become an obsession that dominates the mind and causes suffering and that this can lead the individual to commit suicide by emerging in a deep depression, based on negative thoughts.
There are several symptoms of emotional dependence such as intense sadness, inability to be alone, jealousy, idealizations, inability to perform activities outside the relationship, and others. It is common for some of these signs to appear at the beginning of the relationship due to the so-called fire of passion, in which the initial attachment in no way stimulates people to want to be close to their partner, however, when emotional dependence arises, these signs tend to intensify, becoming increasingly significant in the person’s standard of living.
The most common treatment is psychotherapy, which helps the subject to recognize the disease and the cognitive traps that lead to suffering and unhappiness, resolves the main symptoms, improves self-esteem, develops the recognition of skills, and helps in the acquisition of autonomy.
