Oct 27

Oct 27 Codependent Cards

Jess Ghost

Projects, Psychology, Art

A card that reads, "I’ll be your everything."

A card that reads, "Only you can mend my soul."

A card that reads, "I’m happy when you’re happy."

A card that reads, "You’re the reason I breathe."

A card that reads, "Making you happy is my life’s purpose."

A card that reads, "It’s my privilege to be your fixer."

A card that reads, "When it comes to you, ‘no’ is not in my vocabulary."

A card that reads, "Your problems are my problems."

A card that reads, "I’ll forgive you anything."

A card that reads, "Whatever it is I’ve done wrong, I’m sorry."

A card that reads, "You are my only priority."

A card that reads, "I’ll be whoever you want me to be."

A card that reads, "My future is in your hands."

A card that reads, "I want whatever you want."

A card that reads, "I belong to you and you alone."

A card that reads, "I’m nothing without you."

A card that reads, "Ask me for anything. Nothing is too much."

A card that reads, "You give my life its meaning."

A card that reads, "You don’t need therapy. You just need me."

A card that reads, "Tell me what I should be and I’ll be it."

Links and Further Info

This series was created after I saw a gift card in a supermarket that expressed a codependent sentiment and I started imagining ever more problematic codependent cards.

Codependency is a relationship dynamic defined by unhealthy boundaries. It’s often present in toxic or unfulfilling relationships. The term originated to describe relationships where people enable addicts’ behaviours, but its use has expanded to include relationships characterised by a person losing their independence to another through their need to be needed.

Though we can be in codependent relationships with friends and family members as well as partners, codependency is often seen as romantic and is therefore praised in pop songs and films, where it is held up as the standard of True Love.

There’s an overwhelming amount of information online if you search for it, but this YouTube series by a qualified counsellor is a good place to start, and you can find a very helpful chart here, courtesy of therapist Kristin Snowden.

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