Some people tend to get “hooked” to their partner, suffering a state of extreme filiation towards the person. This is basically the need to maintain that emotional bond.
But what exactly is emotional dependence?
Emotional dependence is considered a psychological state that can manifest itself in relationships with a partner, friends or family.
This type of relationship is characterized by being unstable and destructive, as well as being marked by an important imbalance, since the person submits, idealizing and magnifying the other person. It is an attitude that negatively affects their self-confidence but also their physical and/or mental health. Despite the discomfort and suffering that this relationship generates, they are unable to leave it and attempts are often unsuccessful.
What do people with emotional dependency feel and how can it affect them?
People with emotional dependency are overcome by a feeling of fear of loneliness and possible breakup. Although the relationship is broken, they cling to it as best they can. If they make a break in the relationship they feel the need to resume it during the time of separation, in addition to having obsessive thoughts, symptoms of anxiety and depression, which they hide when they resume it.
People with emotional dependence have an excessive need for affection and to be loved, and will try to get affection in the different relationships they have. They have difficulty changing their reality for fear of losing the security they now have. But it is at this point where self-deception, psycho-traps and the fact of denying the different reality that their environment communicates to them appear.
How should emotional dependence be approached from Psychology?
When the person comes to the consultation of the specialist in Psychology, the reasoning behind the problem is observed. Through a strategic dialogue, the patient is asked what, why, when and with whom. In this way the attempted solutions are observed (what has not worked so far) and creative prescriptions are planned, with the objective that the person makes his or her own change towards wellbeing.
There is no exact protocol, as each person is unique. Going to therapy is a path towards change and, therefore, it is good to demystify the fact of going to a psychologist. The intention of the specialist will always be to help the person to find the solution with mechanisms never tried before.