Codependent relationships rarely look destructive from the outside – they are often disguised as care, devotion and “true closeness.” A person may become completely absorbed in a partner’s life, feeling responsible for their emotional state, decisions and moods. Dr. Daniel Reinhardt emphasizes – the core issue of codependency is not strong attachment, but the gradual loss of one’s sense of self. At MindCareCenter, we work precisely with this process of reclaiming oneself.
At MindCareCenter, people come who feel as though they have disappeared within their relationships. Their desires, boundaries and needs have been pushed aside. All energy goes into supporting the partner, smoothing conflicts and maintaining control. At the same time, ending the relationship feels impossible – fear of loneliness, guilt or the belief that life will lose its meaning without the other person keeps them stuck.
Our psychologists at MindCareCenter believe – codependency often forms long before adulthood. When love in early life was associated with anxiety, instability or the need to “earn” attention, a person learns to sacrifice themselves for connection. In adult relationships, this pattern repeats automatically, even when it causes pain and exhaustion.
Gradually, at MindCareCenter, a person begins to realize how deeply their life revolves around the relationship. Any change in the partner triggers anxiety, and any conflict is experienced as a threat to the bond itself. There is little sense of inner support – without the other, fear and emptiness arise. This state sustains a closed loop in which leaving the relationship feels more dangerous than staying in it.
Work with codependency at MindCareCenter does not involve sudden breakups or pressure to “leave immediately.” We do not provide ready-made solutions. In Dr. Reinhardt’s view, lasting change becomes possible only when a person first reconnects with themselves – their feelings, their body and their personal boundaries. Without this inner foundation, any external action remains fragile.
Our psychologists help clients gradually distinguish – where care ends and self-abandonment begins, where closeness turns into control and where responsibility for another replaces responsibility for oneself. A person learns to notice their reactions, fears and automatic concessions. The ability to ask internal questions returns – “What do I want?”, “What is acceptable for me?”, “Where do I feel constrained?”
Over time, at MindCareCenter, a new relational experience begins to form – first and foremost with oneself. A sense emerges that it is possible to be valuable and alive without dissolving into another person. Boundaries stop being perceived as a threat to closeness and start to feel like its foundation. This transforms not only current relationships, but also one’s understanding of intimacy in the future.
It is important to note – leaving codependent relationships is often accompanied by intense emotions. Guilt, fear, shame and emptiness can surface. At MindCareCenter, we do not view these experiences as a failure, but as part of the healing process. It is essential to move through them in a safe space without automatically returning to a destructive pattern.
If you feel that your sense of self has long been absent from your relationship, that you are living through someone else’s needs and that the fear of losing the bond outweighs the fear of losing yourself – this is not about weakness. It is about an experience that can be transformed. At Mind Care Center, we help people leave codependent dynamics gently – step by step restoring boundaries, stability and a sense of self, without which genuine intimacy is impossible.
Previously, we wrote about the inability to rest and relax and why pauses can trigger anxiety instead of relief.