2023-10-01 18:19:30
By Aurore Aimelet
Published 3 hours ago, Updated 3 hours ago
Ready to do anything to save the one they care about, the loved one ends up neglecting their own health and ignoring their values. Hervé Pinel
PSYCHOLOGY – Alcohol, drugs, gambling… When we help someone close to us who has become addicted, we sometimes tend to do too much. A phenomenon called “codependency.”
“I thought I would help my son get through itconfides Cassandra. In fact, I only delayed his treatment by health professionals. I lied for him, I gave him money, I stopped myself from sleeping to wait for him, from working to watch over him, I put my relationship in danger. Until I realized that all this effort was in vain. He remained addicted to cannabis and the situation got worse.»
Cassandra gradually fell into codependency, these awkward reactions adopted by those around her (spouses, family, friends, but also certain colleagues or employers) to cope with their loved one’s dependence. “It always starts from a good feeling, a real and sincere desire to support, protect, even cure the person addicted to a product (legal like alcohol or illicit like drugs) or to a behavior (the screens, the game…)” explains Dan Véléa, psychiatrist and addictologist.
Read also“Super-helper syndrome”: how (too much) helping others slowly kills you
savior syndrome
At the origin of the problem, affection or love…
This article is reserved for subscribers. You have 79% left to discover.
Do you want to read more?
Unlock all items immediately.
Already subscribed? Log in
#loved #involved