codependency
noun
Did you know?
Dependency on addictive substances has been known for centuries, but the concept of codependency got its name only as recently as 1979. For many of us, codependency isn't easy to understand; we may keep asking "Why doesn't she just leave him?" and find it hard to accept the answers we get. Codependents usually don't share their partners' addiction, but their lives tend to be taken over with the burden of caring for and protecting the spouse or partner. In recent years, people have started claiming that all kinds of conditions—anorexia, overeating, gambling, fear of intimacy, etc.—can result in codependency. Many experts think all of this has gone too far; still, almost everyone agrees that spouses of alcoholics and drug addicts face unique difficulties and should look for support and advice anywhere they can find it.
Example Sentences
Bethonie Butler, Washington Post, 9 Sep. 2022 The two actors grew closer as filming went on, developing a friendship that bordered on codependency. Angelique Jackson, Variety, 10 Aug. 2022 This can hold you back from mutually fulfilling relationships—and is also a trait of codependency. Sharon Kwon, SELF, 6 Aug. 2022 Sarah Jo and Treina are trapped in a bubble of affection and a private cult of triangular codependency, one that’s centered on tales of men but that excludes them. Richard Brody, The New Yorker, 3 Aug. 2022 Separated by 2,500 miles, Sensuntepeque, in central El Salvador, and the dusty farming community of Mendota, 35 miles west of Fresno, are joined as if by an umbilical cord of financial need and emotional codependency. Soudi Jiménez, Los Angeles Times, 17 June 2022 Naturalists, chemists, and botanists started to understand the codependency of trees and humanity. Brian T. Allen, National Review, 19 Mar. 2022 After a decade of codependency, flatmates Laura (Holliday Grainger) and Tyler (Alia Shawkat) grow apart when the former starts dating a pianist (Fra Fee). Radhika Seth, Vogue, 12 Feb. 2022 But codependency is not a clinical diagnosis, and has been defined in many different ways. Sara Kuburic, USA TODAY, 9 Feb. 2022 See More Word History
1977, in the meaning defined above
Medical Definition
codependency
noun
Note: In codependency, a person tries to satisfy the needs of another who is often controlling or manipulative and who may have an addictive or emotionally unstable personality.