19/08/2026
Spot on
When empathy becomes codependency.
Empathy becomes codependency when the balance between caring for another person & maintaining your own healthy boundaries shifts too far toward self-sacrifice. ©Copyright:Addiction Actually
Often but not always - to the point where our own emotional well-being & sense of self become overly reliant on the needs & feelings of others.
Sometimes we are desperate to be needed, to be useful, to be helpful - at the expense of our own life & well being.
Key differences between empathy and codependency:
Healthy Empathy:
Empathy involves understanding & sharing the feelings of others, without losing sight of our own feelings & needs. It's a natural, compassionate response to someone else's emotions, where we can care deeply yet still recognise our own physical, financial and emotional limits.
Codependency:
In codependency, a person may go beyond just being empathic; they may prioritise the emotional , physical & financial needs of others to the point of neglecting or sacrificing their own. They often feel responsible for other people's feelings and take on more than they can handle, often out of a fear of rejection or a desire for approval, company or needing to be needed/useful. Codependency can manifest as an inability to set boundaries, feeling "stuck" in a relationship, or needing to "fix" others.
Some signs that empathy may be crossing into codependency include:
Neglecting our own needs: Putting others' needs consistently before our own, even when it harms ua/we constantly give up things or postpone things we want or need to do.
©Copyright:Addiction Actually
