Recognizing Codependency: A Codependency Quiz

The term “codependent” has been used often within addiction and the mental health world to describe someone whose identity or sense of self is wrapped up in another person.  But this term has had its fair share of misuse and controversy.

In addiction literature, “codependency” became synonymous with “co-addiction”.  Co-addiction suggests that the partner of an addict is addicted to the relationship with the addict, which enables the addict and allows him or her to continue their addictive behavior.  Labeling the partner as a co-addict gave them a disproportionate amount of blame for the addict’s choices.  It caused many partners to feel that their stories were invalidated.  Because of this, addiction literature has shifted to recognize partners’ experience in relationship with addicts as traumatic and avoid using labels such as codependent .

Unfortunately, this response neglects the reality of some people’s true experience of codependency.  Codependency can happen in the context of a relationship with an addict or not.  It can also happen with a child who is rebelling or making poor choices.  It could happen in friendships or work relationships.  It can happen in your church or other places you volunteer or give your time and energy.

What is codependency?

According to Melody Beattie, author of Codependent No More: How to Stop Controlling Others and Start Caring for Yourself, a codependent person is “one who has let another person’s behavior affect him or her, and who is obsessed with controlling that person’s behavior.”  He or she becomes overly involved and entangled in the lives of others, to the detriment of their own well being.  A codependent person often has high needs for affection and care with corresponding devastation when they feel they aren’t receiving them.

Codependent individuals lose themselves in others.  They misplace their identity and unique personality in the search to find another person to “complete” them.  Their relationships are often one-sided, as evidenced by a tendency to try everything to save relationships that are destructive.  Codependent people feel they can save others through their compassionate help and care, but are disappointed when their attempts to fix or “support” are met with resistance, and their well-being suffers as a result.

Pia Mellody, another clinician who writes on codependency in her book Facing Codependence: What it Is, Where it Comes From, How it Sabotages Our Lives, talks about failure to set appropriate boundaries as a hallmark of codependency.  You might see this as taking on too much responsibility for the well-being of others and feeling guilty when attempts to help fall through.  She shares insights into the origins of codependency in her book, indicating that often this stems from codependency in your family-of-origin.

A Codependency Quiz

Read through the questions below and answer yes or no to determine if you might struggle with codependency.

• Do you tend to doubt yourself and feel insecure, even in areas where you have experience and know what you’re doing?

• Do you struggle to say “no” to requests even when you don’t have the time or energy to carry them out?

• Do you let people too close to you, only to feel betrayed when they disappoint or hurt you?

• Do you find yourself pushing people away to protect yourself?

• Do you have a hard time recognizing your own emotions or thoughts?

• Do you struggle to identify your own needs?

• Do you spend excessive amounts of time and energy on others at the expense of meeting your own needs?

• Have others described you as “too needy” in relationships?

• Do you have intense emotional reactions to conflict in your relationships?

• In relationships, do you often feel that you are the only one making a sacrifice to meet your partner’s needs?

• Do you find your personal worth or value in how others see you?

• Are you constantly striving to prove yourself to others?

• Do you tend to overanalyze and obsess over mistakes you’ve made in relationships?

• Do you find yourself thinking, “if only this other person would change, everything in my life would be better?”

• Do you feel a strong need to be loved, affirmed, and desired that causes problems in relationships?

• Do you notice yourself using passive-aggressive statements to get your needs met?

• Do you find yourself trying to “fix” others?

• Do you have a hard time trusting others?

• Do you struggle with intense outbursts of anger or irritability?

• Do you feel ambivalence toward intimacy: a desire to be close to others, but also a fear of what it means to be close?

• Do you try to make everyone else around you happy, even though you feel miserable?

• Do you feel overcome with shame and/or guilt when someone offers you constructive feedback?

If you’ve answered five or more of these questions with “yes,” you may be dealing with codependent tendencies in your life.  Reach out to a licensed counselor to talk more about your responses and get help.

Resources for Codependency

In the meantime, you may be interested in learning more about codependency.  Here are a few books I’d recommend if you’re interested in learning more, seeing if you identify with any codependent tendencies, and beginning the process of healing.

• Facing Codependence: What It Is, Where It Comes From, How It Sabotages Our Lives by Pia Mellody (also has a workbook)

• Codependent No More: How to Stop Controlling Others and Start Caring for Yourself by Melody Beattie (also has a workbook)

• The Intimacy Factor by Pia Mellody

• Boundaries: When to Say Yes, How to Say No to Take Control of Your Life by Henry Cloud and John Townsend

• Conquering Codependency: A Christ-Centered 12-Step Process by Pat Springle

Being Instead of Doing: How to Accept Grace and Release the Pressure to Accomplish More

What comes to mind when you hear the phrase, “being instead of doing”?

We live in a culture and a country that prizes achievement and success, which we attribute to working hard.  The “American dream” promises that hard work and sacrifice will bring you happiness and fulfillment.  I think about all the books and blogs out there about productivity and getting things done.  We are encouraged to “hustle.”  We wear 50 to 60-hour work-weeks as badges of pride.  “Doing,” and always “doing more,” is glorified. When something is broken, we want to find a solution, fix it, and make it better.

“Doing” can also look like filling our time to escape from painful emotions or experiences. You can numb out by watching TV, eating, shopping, or any other type of behavior that takes your mind off your present reality, but those behaviors often still leave you feeling drained.  You may not be achieving goals, but you’re still not allowing yourself to “be.”

I am someone who struggles with the idea of resting or waiting.  I feel much more secure and in control when I do something productive.

What are some ways you tend to get caught up in this attitude of “doing”?

As a therapist in private practice, I feel this pressure to “hustle,” both for the sake of my business and for the best care for my clients.  This drive to achieve can be a good thing in small doses – until I push it beyond what I can handle.  It can warp into pressure to work hard that can either paralyze me or drive me into the ground.  It can lead to perfectionism, overwork, and ultimately to burnout.

Like most behaviors we come back to in our lives, keeping busy with work serves us somehow.  We wouldn’t do it if there weren’t some benefit.  Maybe it’s the pride of accomplishment, the sense of control and order it gives us, or the approval of others.  Or maybe you’re constantly doing something because you’re running or avoiding.

How might you fill in this blank: “If I constantly keep myself busy, I won’t have time to stop and think about _________”?  You can run away from your own awareness of your weakness and neediness by chasing achievement and accolades.  You can run away from your loneliness or desires by working for the approval of others.  You can even run away from the responsibility that comes with success by filling your time with purposeless activity.

What might you be running from when you’re “doing”?

As I sit, listen, and “be” with my clients, what I notice is I am much more alive and authentic than I would be if I were trying to fix them.  I often find that my clients can perceive this attitude, and they are more willing to be genuine themselves. This idea applies with relationships in your life as well.  As you sit and empathize with friends or family, being present with them instead of thinking of what you’ll say next or what advice you’ll give them, you are bringing more of your true self and presence to the conversation.  This can extend to work too: how many times have you puzzled over the solution to a problem for hours, and the answer comes to you when you’re not thinking about it?

As a therapist, I can feel pressure to be perfect or “enough” for my clients.  To say exactly the right words, or to offer the perfect response.  I can feel the pressure to have all the right training and education, to get the PhD, or to know all the answers.  There is freedom in realizing that I will never be perfect.  On my own strength, I will never be enough for my clients or for the people around me.  And when I give up trying to be perfect and instead offer myself as a fellow traveler and support to clients or to other relationships in my life, I’m much more genuine and authentic to my true identity.

How would it change your relationships if you could be more authentic with the people you love?

We have to make an intentional choice to “be” instead of “do.”  Personally, I had to make this choice while writing this post.  My original intention was to stay up late and get it done so that I’d have it completed by my deadline.  But in order to do that, I’d be missing needed sleep and down time.  Instead, I chose to spend the evening resting and wrote the post the next day, even thought that meant it would be posted later than I intended.

How can you start to make this intentional choice in your life?  Practice mindfulness.  Rest.  Play.  Take a nap.  Read a book.  Take a leisurely walk.  Pray.  Sleep in.  Give yourself permission to take a break, to simply “be.”

What does it look like in your life to “be” instead of “do”?  How can you embody this in your life this week? 

This article was originally posted on May 12, 2017.

Stopping the Cycle of Emotional Harm in Your Marriage: A Review of The Emotionally Destructive Marriage by Leslie Vernick

What does it mean to be in an emotionally destructive marriage?  Have you felt coerced into doing things you don’t want to do?  Do you hear name-calling or contemptuous criticism when your spouse doesn’t like your choices?  Do your spouse’s words lead you to feel horrible about yourself?

These are common symptoms of emotional abuse or harm.  Others include a crippling sense of self-doubt based on your spouse’s criticism and feeling terrified of his or her rages.  Gaslighting is common: when you attempt to directly address an issue with your spouse, you consistently leave the conversation feeling as though it was all your fault.

Leslie Vernick’s book The Emotionally Destructive Marriage gives a message of relief to women who experience their husband’s emotional and verbal abuse but feel trapped and unable to change anything about it.  In this book, Vernick outlines the characteristics of an emotionally destructive marriage and explores what that type of abuse feels and looks like.  She also shatters the myths of distorted Christian teachings that cause women to doubt their experience based on overly simplistic views of women’s roles.

Since this book comes from an explicitly Christian perspective, including prayers at the end of each chapter and a focus on Biblical truths, it may initially alienate someone who doesn’t have the same faith background.  Regardless, I believe the practical tools and helpful insight she provides can be beneficial for any woman who is concerned about the state of her marriage.

Helpful Insights from This Book

An Understanding of Emotionally Destructive Marriages

Early on in the book, Vernick describes emotionally destructive marriages and gives assessments to help you identify the difference between an abusive relationship and an unsatisfying relationship.  This distinction between dissatisfaction in marriage and being the recipient of emotional abuse or manipulation can be validating to women who have been told they are simply unhappy in their marriages and they need to change their own perspective.

A Shift in Perspective on Biblical Submission

Unfortunately, many Christian women have been taught messages about the role of submission to their husbands without a full understanding of what this word means and what it requires of the husband.  Submission is not blindly going along with whatever the husband wants, particularly when the husband is asking the wife to do something she knows is wrong or will be harmful to herself or others. Looking at the way Jesus led others, it is clear that leadership means serving and looking out for the needs of those you lead more so than your own needs.  Submission cannot be forced or demanded, and it is not meant to be a power play of cruelty.  If you experience “submission” as a weapon in your marriage, you are likely in an emotionally destructive marriage.

Validation of a Woman’s Choice

Vernick allows her readers to make a choice about the future of their marriage: whether they want to stay together, separate, or divorce.  She doesn’t dictate what that choice should be: instead, she encourages women that whatever they choose to do, they do it “well.”  Recognizing that each situation is different and there is no one solution for everyone, she gives practical help for whichever option you choose.  She warns against people who claim simple solutions for such a complex issue, reinforcing that what is right for one woman and marriage may not be right for another.

If you are in an emotionally destructive marriage, you likely are not given opportunities to make your own decisions.  You are told what to do by your spouse and haven’t had much space to explore what you truly want.  Often gaslighting contributes to this, as emotional manipulation can lead you to believe your desires are different from what they truly are. She encourages you to get in touch with your own desires as part of this discerning process.

Practical Tools and Next Steps

At the end of each chapter in the book, Vernick gives specific action steps to help you explore changes you can make to move out of feeling stuck in your marriage.  At several points through the book, she refers the reader to her website for resources to download that help you begin to set boundaries in your marriage.  She has video resources available for both spouses to understand the dynamics of the emotionally destructive marriage. 

Challenges Toward Growth

Vernick knows her audience: the wife in the emotionally destructive relationship is probably the one reading this book, not the husband.  She also knows that many of these women want to change their spouse, but they have little to no control over that change.  Instead, she challenges women to do their own work: becoming more confident and supported so that they can take steps toward healing.  At one point she discusses her intentional decision to refrain from talking about reasons for husbands to become emotionally abusive: to her, it doesn’t matter how it happened, but instead that it is happening, and the wife needs to respond to protect herself and her family.

For Partners of Sex and Love Addicts

When I’m working with partners of sex and love addicts, I see the devastation that trauma causes and how it can limit a woman’s sense of personal power. It is important to allow the husband to carry the blame for stepping out on the marriage. And it is incredibly important for your own healing to recognize how these actions have affected you and how you may be responding negatively in your own way as a result.  Taking ownership over your own response can help you regain a personal sense of power.  Acknowledge the reality of the trauma you’re experiencing, but also acknowledge steps you can take to regain control over your own choices and life.

Practicing Self-Care

Healing from the trauma of an emotionally abusive marriage requires taking care of yourself and processing your own past hurt that may be contributing to your response.  Practice self-care by getting in touch with your own needs, which probably have been hidden because you’ve been focused on appeasing your spouse.  Find support through trusted friends, therapy, and support groups: you cannot do this alone.  Learn to communicate boundaries with your spouse and say “no” when you feel uncomfortable.  The best way to do this work is to get into your own therapy to explore how your actions has been affected by your upbringing and past trauma such that you respond in the unique, particular way you do.

How to Communicate with an Emotionally Destructive Spouse

There often comes a time where direct communication needs to happen with your spouse in order to open the door for change.  Vernick suggest templates for how to talk about what you’re willing and not willing to tolerate, emphasizing the need for follow-through on what you commit to do in response to his intolerable behaviors.  She reminds you not to get sucked in to the emotional abuse or manipulation, remaining calm as a way of avoiding destructive dynamics from the past.  She encourages keeping yourself safe as the highest priority, suggesting this confrontation happen in public and with support individuals nearby.  These practical tips help this process feel more manageable.

If you are wondering if you might be in an emotionally abusive or destructive marriage, pick up this book and give it a read.  Do the assessments and follow the action plans.  Learn to communicate clearly and directly with the specific and practical steps Vernick offers.  Open yourself up to explore your own history and how it might be influencing your spouse to your spouse.  My hope is that this will give you the courage you need to take a stand and take up space in your marriage.

Understanding the Window of Tolerance and How Trauma Throws You Off Balance

Have you ever felt out of control of your emotions?  Overtaken by anger or rage?  Swarmed by anxious thoughts and worries? Confused by the intensity of your emotional reactions?

What about feeling shut down emotionally? No matter how hard you try, you can’t seem to feel anything.  You’re disconnected from relationships and others, and you coast through your day feeling numb.

Chances are, if you’ve had this happen to you, you’ve been outside of your window of tolerance. 

What is the window of tolerance?

Coined by Dr. Dan Siegel, the term “window of tolerance” describes the space where your level of arousal (how alert you are) matches up with what is required for you to do.  This window is the space where you can approach day-to-day life most effectively, handling emotions without losing control and making clear-headed decisions with rational thought.

Imagine an average day where you aren’t troubled by too much stress, but you’re still alert and able to focus on your tasks.  Typically, this would place you right in the center of your window of tolerance: you’re not facing anything beyond what you can handle.  You can experience emotions without being overtaken by them and feel safe in general.

Let’s say a minor stressor comes up: you get a phone call from your boss that requires you to do additional work, or an email comes in from your child’s teacher about misbehavior in their class.  That stressor will increase your level of arousal, maybe even to put you at the edge of your window of tolerance, but if you’re still within that window you can handle the stress without getting too out of sorts.

Our brains are designed to handle the ups and downs of emotions and experience by remaining within this window of tolerance.  We may have unconscious coping mechanisms in place that help us handle that stress, or the passage of time brings us back to the center of that window.

The National Institute for the Clinical Application of Behavioral Medicine (NICABM) has provided this infographic to help you visualize the window of tolerance.

What happens when I go outside the window?

When a circumstance, stressor, or trigger is enough to throw you outside the window of tolerance, you enter into survival mode.  Outside the window of tolerance, the prefrontal cortex of your brain (involved in impulse control, decision-making, and regulating emotions) shuts down.

If your level of arousal is too high and jumps above the window of tolerance, you’re experiencing hyperarousal.  Usually this is the initial response when a stressor throws you off balance.  Hyperarousal comes from your fight-or-flight adrenaline response, which can show up with increased heart rate, racing thoughts, digestive issues, or hypervigilance in your surroundings.  You might feel an intense wave of anxiety, panic, or anger.  Your emotions can be overwhelming and out of control.

If your level of arousal is too low and dips below the window of tolerance, this is hypoarousal.  This comes from a freeze and shut-down response, often as a reaction to the adrenaline rush of hyperarousal.  Hypoarousal can look a lot like depression.  You might notice lack of motivation, exhaustion, and feeling numb and disconnected from emotions.

How Trauma Affects the Window of Tolerance

If you’ve experienced trauma, whether big T (like a natural disaster or prolonged abuse) or little t (like gaslighting or emotional manipulation that adds up over time), you know that reminders of those experiences can bring you back to how it felt then.  These triggers happen out of nowhere.  A sound, smell, or location can send you into a negative spiral.  Often, these triggers go unnoticed and you’re left feeling anxious, depressed, or some combination of the two without really knowing why.  Other times, these are obvious reminders that trigger flashbacks or physical reactions in your body.

If you have experienced trauma, your window of tolerance shrinks.  The traumatic experience has likely taught you that the world is unsafe and unpredictable.  Triggers related to the trauma also increase emotional response, skyrocketing you out of your window of tolerance before you’re even aware of what’s happening.

Because the window of tolerance is smaller, you’re likely to fluctuate more often through hyperarousal and hypoarousal.  Something as simple as that call from your boss or email from your child’s teacher could send you into an anxious spiral. 

In some cases, when you’ve been outside of your window of tolerance for a long period of time, clinical levels of anxiety or depression can develop. Survivors of trauma may learn to adapt to fluctuations between hyperarousal or hypoarousal by moving toward unhealthy behaviors, such as addictions, to manage their discomfort.

How can I stay in my window of tolerance?

There are healthy alternatives to addictions or other destructive ways of coping that can help you to return to your window of tolerance.

• Breath work and grounding. Bring yourself into the present moment by taking a few deep breaths.  Use a breathing technique like four-square breathing or the 5-4-3-2-1 grounding exercise to help you remember that you’re in the present.

• Check your thoughts. Talk to yourself about what’s going on in the present.  Question whether the feelings of panic or lack of safety are based in factual reality, or if they’re an echo of the past trauma.  Affirm yourself for changes you’ve made and work you’ve done or are doing to heal from the trauma.

• Self-care. When you notice your emotions getting out of control, think of that as a red flag indicating your need for self-care.  This can include things like going for a walk, taking a hot shower, giving yourself a few minutes to breathe, or calling a friend.  Look for self-soothing actions that help you not to be overcome by the emotion and ground you in the present

• Connection with loved ones.  Feeling supported and cared for by your loved ones can serve as an important part of self-care when you’re reeling from a trauma-related trigger.  Connect with your loved ones via phone call, text, or in-person meeting to remind you of their present role in your life. 

Expanding Your Window of Tolerance

The solutions above can be great in an emergency when you find that you’re already outside of the window of tolerance.  But if you’ve experienced trauma and are coping with a smaller window of tolerance, these will only provide a temporary fix.  Luckily, it is possible to grow that window of tolerance with focused work.

• Therapy. Creating space to process and deal with the impact of trauma on your everyday life with a professional counselor or psychologist can help create a buffer for your emotional reactions.  Your relationship and connection with your therapist is the most valuable part of any therapy relationship, moreso than what technique that therapist uses.  Find someone with whom you feel comfortable and safe and who can help you stay within the window of tolerance in your sessions, as healing can’t occur when you’re outside of that window.

• EMDR. As an EMDR-trained clinician, I have seen EMDR change the game with clients who have survived trauma.  EMDR (eye movement desensitization and reprocessing) helps process and reorganize the traumatic memories in your brain such that they aren’t creating such strong emotional reactions.  This technique replaces the negative narratives and emotions from those memories with a more grounded and centered perspective coupled with positive, affirming words.

• Regular meditation practice.  While the short version of meditation and breathing mentioned above can help in a pinch, regular meditation practice can do wonders for extending the window of tolerance.  Doing regular breath work over time can create a habit that develops into a reflex to react to stress with conscious breathing.

Letting Go of Shame as Essential to Sex Addiction Recovery

Addiction is thorny.  Every addict knows this.  Once it has its claws in you, it can feel impossible to disentangle yourself from it.  The relief that comes from being discovered and/or finally taking the first step to get help is tangible.  Finally, you don’t have to be dealing with this by yourself anymore.  Finally, you have an excuse to make it stop and the motivation or resolve to do so.

But what happens when that motivation fades?  Sure, you’ll be committed early on, attending meetings or support groups, meeting regularly with your therapist, following the program…until it starts to get too hard.  Maybe the motivation you had to quit goes away, in the form of a separation from a spouse or consequences fading in intensity.  Maybe you lose sight of your reasons why for stopping.  Or maybe the pain of the recovery process becomes too great and you have to escape back into something that is self-soothing, comforting, familiar.

So you relapse.  And upon relapse, the shame you’ve been holding at bay with recovery work comes crashing down on you again.  And to avoid or self-medicate away from that shame (because it is impossibly painful) you act out again, continue to go back to your addiction because it’s what feeds you.  Maybe there’s a part of you that desperately wants to get out, that knows the destruction your addiction can cause, that it already has caused.  But then there’s another part of you that says you can’t live without your addiction.  That it’s the only thing keeping you sane, keeping you holding on, keeping you alive.

And so these two sides are at war.  Pulling back and forth, hoping to motivate you on one side, hoping to destroy you on the other.

“There’s another part of you that says you can’t live without your addiction. That it’s the only thing keeping you sane, keeping you holding on, keeping you alive.”

Add in additional shame because you can’t stop, further consequences to your behavior that result from your relapse, and the dopamine and adrenaline rush that feel more intense because you haven’t acted out in a long time, and it’s a recipe for disaster.

In early recovery, I often hear vestiges of the war: wanting so desperately to stop but feeling completely unable to.  The addict part of you convincing that it isn’t all that bad, or that you’re hopeless and without strength to stop.  Or the reality that you really just don’t want to stop because it feels good and offers relief from the pain of daily living.  These admissions are often then followed with shame-based beliefs about yourself: I’m a horrible person, I’m never going to get better, There’s something wrong with me, I’m disgusting, I’m worthless, I’m weak.

What’s the quickest remedy for shame?  Escaping into addiction.

Addiction feeds off of shame. So before we can truly bring addiction to an end, live in recovery and achieve sobriety, the shame needs to be addressed as well.  Otherwise you just end up as a dry drunk.

Here’s where acceptance comes in.

Acceptance?  What?  So I’m just supposed to accept that I’m a lost cause and act out as much as I want to?  The addict part of me really likes that, but the healthy part knows that’s not good.

“Before we can truly bring addiction to an end, live in recovery and achieve sobriety, the shame needs to be addressed.”

True, if you look at acceptance as a free license to do whatever you want, that’s a problem.  That’s typically where addicts get entrenched in self-aggrandizement and self-deception as a way of denying and avoiding the reality of their addiction.

Acceptance is an important step in releasing yourself from shame, but it doesn’t stop there.  We’ll get to the next part in a moment, but for now, let’s start with acceptance.

How does it feel to say to yourself: I’m a horrible, disgusting person who doesn’t deserve good things?  If this is the language you use to describe yourself, no wonder you want to run away into addiction, into something that helps you feel better.

But what if, instead of beating yourself up for your addiction, you sought to make sense of it?

Hear me out: addiction doesn’t develop out of nowhere.  Research has shown that sex addicts often carry stories of sexual, physical, or emotional abuse or neglect.  Neglect, in particular, is hard to see because it’s the absence of something good in our upbringing.  Because we consider our own upbringings to be “normal”, we don’t see it as neglect. 

Even if you don’t have abuse or neglect in your story, the world we live in offers pornography at the ready with the few clicks of a button.  Pornography is designed to draw you in, flood your brain with dopamine and keep you coming back for more.  It’s an industry, after all, and they want to make sure you continue to “buy” their product.  Never mind the fact that regular use affects the neurocircuitry of your brain to make real-life partners less attractive, sexual desire harder to drum up, and creates a pattern of dependency on the images for sexual release.

Examine the origins of your addiction story.  Where did it start?  What was going on in your life at the time?  Were you experiencing pain or distress?  Even what you might consider “normal” pain like a breakup, a parental divorce, teasing at school, feelings of loneliness – what did the sexual behavior help you avoid?

When you pick up a habit that helps you cope, you tend to repeat it in adult life even if it’s not working anymore or its hurting you.  Sexual behavior, beyond just a habit for coping, is self-reinforcing as it alters your brain to offer such a potent rush of feel-good neurochemicals every time you engage in it.   

No wonder you keep going back to something that feels that good.  You learned it worked, and so you’ll repeat it. 

“When you pick up a habit that helps you cope, you tend to repeat it in adult life even if it’s not working anymore or its hurting you.”

And you aren’t the only one who’s had this experience.  There wouldn’t be books written about sex addiction, research articles on the effects of porn on the brain, and 12 Step and support groups about this issue if you were the only one who struggled with it.

Allowing the addictive behavior to “make sense” releases the stigma of shame.  It’s not that you’re a horrible person – you’ve (in essence) conditioned your brain such that you go to sex to give you relief from stress or pain.   

So now what?  Sure, it makes sense, but does that give me free license to do it whenever I want?

Not exactly.  See, realizing that it makes sense and acknowledging that for yourself is freeing.  It means that you’re not alone and that others have found a way out of this, even when they’ve been in the midst of an intense relapse or full-on addiction.

Remember earlier when I said there would be a next step beyond acceptance?  That step is commitment.

Commitment to change.  Commitment to recovery.  Commitment to carry out the life values that are important to you.  Commitment to people.  Commitment to yourself.

Understanding commitment requires a vision for your future.  Shame destroys any hope for the future, so it follows that vision is only established when you accept that you aren’t hopeless or a lost cause, because it makes sense why you would choose addiction. Knowing others have been able to get out of it bolsters that hope.

Why do you want to stop?  What has it cost you to stay addicted?  What have you lost?  What are you at risk of losing if you don’t stop?

Imagine your future if you don’t stop acting out.  What would that look like?  How does that make you feel?  Imagine your current or future marriage or relationships falling apart, your addiction escalating into behaviors that are illegal, your body ravaged by disease, the impacts on the women or men you objectify and treat as sex objects instead of people.  The addict part of yourself might say, “well that’ll never happen to me,” but anecdotal evidence says otherwise. 

Pause: do I need to remind you of the acceptance piece again to release some of the shame of recognizing the impact of your addiction?  It makes sense why you’re acting out, and there is hope for you to change.  Got it? 

Now envision your life without the addiction.  What matters to you?  What feels important to you?  What would you spend your time doing?  This may be morbid but - what do you want to be remembered for after you die?

Once you have that vision in mind, recognize that the vision you have will not happen overnight.  You can’t scale Everest in a day, and you’d almost certainly die without training.  Instead, you need to take each day at a time, each step at a time.  You need to “train” for your recovery journey by doing small, concentrated tasks that move you closer to your goals of sobriety and recovery.

Join a 12 Step group.  Choose to spend one day without acting out.  Start to exercise more or pick up a hobby that you’ve been meaning to do.  Reach out to a friend or 12 Step member when you’re feeling triggered.  Go to a therapy session.  Work on a workbook or book related to treating sex addiction.   

“You need to “train” for your recovery journey by doing small, concentrated tasks that move you closer to your goals of sobriety and recovery.”

And most important, don’t expect that you’ll be able to do this all at once.  Take it one step at a time: but be sure to take that step. 

And when you find yourself beating yourself up for not accomplishing your vision RIGHT NOW, take a step back and remind yourself of acceptance.

“My name is _______.  I am a sex addict.  I am in recovery.  I have ___ days/years/minutes/ hours of sobriety, and I choose to be sober in this moment.  I know the addiction comes from my story, and I know I am not alone.  I will focus on this task to support my recovery today: (going for a walk, reading my 12 Step literature, sending a text to my sponsor, staying focused on my work, installing a filter on my computer).  My addiction does not define me: it is not who I am.”  

The Key to Satisfying Relationships: Understanding Your Adult Attachment Style

How do you experience relationships?  Are you confident in your connection with others and able to relate easily?  Do you long for the perfect relationship, but feel dissatisfied once you’re in one and struggle to get out?  Do you feel terrified of being alone or abandoned, and will do whatever it takes to keep your loved ones close, even if it means sacrificing part of who you are?

Whether or not you’ve experienced these yourself, you probably know someone else who has. These patterns in relationships can create despair, hopelessness, or distress.  Often, these patterns are rooted in the theory of adult attachment styles.

What is attachment?

Attachment is an individual’s beliefs about his or her safety, security, and protection in relation to others, formed by early interactions between child and caregiver.  Attachment theory is based on the research of John Bowlby, who was curious about the distress infants showed when separated from their caregivers.  He believed that children use these behaviors in order to get their caregiver’s attention and essentially ask their caregiver, “Can I trust you to respond?  Will you take care of my needs?”  The response of the caregiver forms the foundation of the child’s attachment style.

Building on Bowlby’s research, Mary Ainsworth put this theory into the research lab.  She created the “strange situation,” an environment where a child was brought by their caregiver into a playroom where another adult was present.  The caregiver would leave for a short time and then return.  Researchers observed the response of the infant when the parent left, while the parent was outside the room, and upon the return of the parent.

She observed four different responses in children.  Securely attached children were upset when their caregiver left, but comforted by their return.  This was the most common response (60% of children) and indicated that the caregivers were responsive to the needs of the child.

Insecurely attached children were impacted by lack of responsiveness or inconsistent responses from their caregivers.  They took one of three forms:

• Insecure-resistant attachment – These children showed high levels of distress when their caregiver left.  They were unable to be soothed upon reuniting with their caregiver, almost as if they were “punishing” the caregiver for leaving.

• Insecure-avoidant attachment – These children weren’t distressed by their caregiver leaving and ignored their caregiver upon re-entry, often choosing to continue playing rather than engaging with their caregiver.

• Insecure-disorganized attachment – These children demonstrated an unpredictable response that could not be categorized.  These responses were more commonly correlated with childhood abuse.

Adult Attachment Styles

Later on, researchers Hazan and Shaver extended these findings into adulthood.  They concluded that attachment styles in childhood affected the way adults experienced intimacy and connection in romantic relationships. 

For example, if you experienced insecure attachment as a child, you learned at a young age that important people will not respond appropriately to your needs.  As an adult, you may find yourself in similar relationships that confirm the belief formed early on that you cannot depend on others to meet your needs, or that you are unlovable and aren’t deserving of love or care.  Unfortunately, you can then become trapped in a cycle of relationships where you expect this belief to be true, and (in self-fulfilling prophecy) reaffirm the belief.

Read the descriptions below about adult attachment styles and pay attention to if you relate to any one of them, or if you know someone who does.  You can also take this assessment online to discover your attachment style. 

Secure attachment

These individuals are confident in themselves and in their ability to be loved and cared for by those close to them.  This doesn’t mean that they are always without insecurity – in fact, it is normal for anyone to have some level of hesitation in these areas.  However, at their core, secure individuals believe they are worthy of love and trust that their loved ones will respond to their needs.  They are willing to both depend on others and can also be depended upon by others.

In relationships, securely attached individuals are interdependent.  They can separate from their partner, have their own interests, and encourage their significant other’s interests.  But they can also come back to their relationship feeling connected, loved, and supported with their partner.  They both seek and provide support to their partners, and therefore are the most satisfied.  They tend to have honesty and equality in their relationships.

Anxious (preoccupied) attachment

Anxiously attached individuals long to be loved and worry consistently that they are not.  They become frustrated and angry when their attachment needs aren’t met in their primary relationships, and will attempt to create intimacy when they are feeling this way. Sadly, this often backfires. 

In relationships, anxiously attached individuals are over-dependent. They believe their partner will “complete” them.  They hold to the fantasy that finding a significant other to love them will solve their problems and make their lives better.  This isn’t real love, but an obsession fueled by fantasy.  Rushing into relationships, these individuals don’t allow enough time to build real trust, but instead create a false sense of security with their partner   Love addicts tend to fall into this category.  They desire to be very close, cling to their partners for safety and security, and crave reassurance that they are loved.  Unfortunately, this often causes their partners to withdraw, creating a vicious cycle that reaffirms their beliefs in their own flawed nature and inability to be loved.

Avoidant (dismissing-avoidant) attachment

Those with avoidant attachment styles struggle with the intimacy required for close relationships, preferring to be on their own without any others depending on them.  They dismiss the need for close relationships, having used that behavior to cope with early childhood experiences where they were responsible for caregivers’ emotional needs and learned to deny or shut down their own as a result.  In fact, shutting down emotionally became an adaptive way of protecting themselves.

In relationships, these individuals prefer to be independent, creating emotional distance between themselves and their partners, often as a way to protect against smothering or feeling consumed by their partner.  They learned that the way to get their needs met is to pretend to have no needs.  This can easily detach from relationships because of lack of consideration for their importance.  Sex addiction is more common in these individuals.

Fearful-avoidant attachment

Fearful-avoidant individuals have a strong sense of ambivalence about their relationships, switching between feeling anxious about losing their loved one and avoidance of emotional closeness.  They have difficulty managing their overwhelming emotions.  You might see this type as chaotic and unpredictable, and even they feel confused by the near-constant attempts to balance just the right amount of closeness with someone. 

Often this stems from a caregiver who was too close, enmeshed, or smothering with the child.  They desired to go to their caregivers to get their needs met, but may have received a negative response when they reached out. In relationships, fearful-avoidant individuals exist on a roller-coaster of drama and intensity.  They are both fearful of being abandoned and fearful of experiencing true intimacy with another person. 

Adult Attachment Styles in Relationships

As mentioned earlier, it is common for anxious and avoidant individuals to be drawn to one another and create a cycle of disappointment.  In some ways, being with a partner that reinforces childhood beliefs about the dependability of a caregiver feels familiar and therefore attractive.  While it is better for both to build a relationship with a securely attached individual, those relationships often contain less intensity, which both the anxious and avoidant crave.

Fortunately, your adult attachment style is not a permanent death sentence for your love life.  Understanding your natural tendency in attachment helps you to be aware of it when going into relationships.  It can also be changed by “learned” attachment with corrective experiences in your romantic relationship and/or friendships, relationships in therapy, and other important people in your life.  Being close to a responsive and kind individual can go a long way toward changing the dynamics of insecure attachment in adulthood.

Additional Resources

If you’re interested in learning more about attachment theory, check out these resources:

• Attached: The New Science of Adult Attachment and How It Can Help You Find – and Keep – Love by Amir Levine and Rachel Heller

• The Power of Attachment: How to Create Deep and Lasting Intimate Relationships by Diane Poole Heller

• Attachments: Why You Love, Feel and Act the Way You Do by Dr. Tim Clinton and Dr. Gary Sibcy

Releasing Your Body from Trauma's Grip: A Review of The Body Keeps the Score by Bessel van der Kolk

If you’ve experienced a traumatic event, you know the symptoms that follow.  It could be physical or emotional pain directly related to the trauma, but also symptoms in response to reminders of the event once you’re physically healed.  You might be dealing with panic or out-of-control flashbacks that pull you into re-experiencing the trauma.  You may have trouble putting words to what happened to you, with gaps in your memory or difficulty placing a beginning, middle, and end to your experience. 

Bessel van der Kolk, in his book The Body Keeps the Score, describes the experience of holding trauma in our bodies both through changes to the structures of our brain and effects of trauma on daily living for those who have experienced traumatic events. 

In his 40+ years of clinical experience as a psychiatrist, van der Kolk has done extensive research on the effects of trauma on brains and bodies of children and adults.  His focus on neuroscience and attachment form the basis of his points in his book.  

How This Book is Organized

How Trauma Affects the Brain and Body

Van der Kolk begins the book giving background information about trauma and how it impacts both the structures of the brain and interpersonal relationships.  He discusses how trauma activates your fight-or-flight response in the amygdala, or emotional center of your brain.  This affects not only how you remember and tell the story (typically more images than biographical details), and it also changes how that information is stored in your brain.

He normalizes traumatized individuals’ difficulty improving, not because they don’t want to, but because of the impact of the symptoms and the weight of self-blame they carry in response.  This can cause physical symptoms and reactions in the body that echo long after the traumatic event has ended.  It can affect their lives as they lose their ability to focus or concentrate, they dissociate or disconnect emotionally, and they have difficulty feeling safe with other people.

“When the subject of blame arises, the central issue that needs to be addressed is usually self-blame – accepting that the trauma was not their fault, that it was not caused by some defect in themselves, and that no one could ever have deserved what happened to them.”

— Bessel van der Kolk

The Impact of Trauma in Childhood

Next he moves on to discuss the impact of childhood trauma and insecure attachment on adults.  He highlights insights from research with children and teens to highlight the detrimental effects of trauma and how it can be reversed.

One insight he shares is that how we cope with trauma as children usually translates into how we cope as adults.  We learn to survive amidst chaos using certain strategies, some of which can include addiction, destructive relationships, or other unhealthy patterns.  Recognizing where these patterns originated can release some of the self-blame you carry. 

“Many traumatized children and adults simply cannot describe what they are feeling because they cannot identify what their physical sensations mean…trauma victims cannot recover until they become familiar with and befriend the sensations in their bodies.”

— Bessel van der Kolk

How to Treat Trauma

Luckily, trauma is not a death sentence, because our brains are designed with healing mechanisms in place.  During this section, van der Kolk highlights several different methods of psychotherapy that can help heal the effects of trauma, such as EMDR (eye movement desensitization and reprocessing), yoga, internal family systems therapy, writing, theater, psychomotor therapy, group therapy, and others. 

He speaks about using an approach to trauma treatment that focuses both on top-down interventions (strengthening the control center of the brain with activities such as mindfulness and yoga) and bottom-up interventions (regulating the emotional brain through breathing, touch, and movement).  He emphasizes that revisiting the trauma is an essential part of this process, but it needs to be done when you are feeling safe and grounded in the present moment.  Ultimately, he believes (and I agree) that experiential knowledge is much more powerful than intellectual knowledge, and therapy should incorporate these aspects.

“More than anything else, being able to feel safe with other people defines mental health; safe connections are fundamental to meaningful and satisfying lives.”

— Bessel van der Kolk

How to Use This Book

If you are someone who has experienced trauma or helps others who have been traumatized, The Body Keeps the Score will be a helpful resource to put words and explanations to what you feel and experience.  You might discover a completely new perspective on your story of trauma as a result.

Begin with the first section of the book if you are curious to understand how trauma affects the brain.  His anecdotes about individuals who have experienced trauma coupled with images of brain scans illustrate the connection between trauma and the brain.  My guess is that you’ll find your story to be more common than you realized.

In particular, I think the first section of the book is helpful for women who have experienced sexual assault or other violent crimes.  He speaks at length about the freeze response of the brain that shuts down and inhibits the victim’s ability to fight back against their attacker.  This survival response often becomes a source of self-blame after the traumatic event.  Knowing it is a natural biological reality to shut down can lift some of that blame.

If you’re interested in the concept of attachment and how trauma during childhood can affect development, read the middle section of the book, where van der Kolk shares research insights into the impact of attachment on children.  He speaks about the impact of a caregiver’s ability to emotionally attune to their children and respond to their needs so that children can learn to self-regulate.  Children who don’t receive that attunement can grow up to be anxious (feeling too much) or avoidant (not feeling at all).

If you want to learn more about a particular type of therapy to treat your trauma, jump ahead to Section Five of the book, where van der Kolk outlines the different methods of therapy that have been helpful in his experience of treating trauma.  As an EMDR practitioner, I enjoyed how he described the way a typical EMDR session works, as that can give you an idea of what to expect.

Overall, I think the combination of personal anecdotes, research, and hope this book offers make it an invaluable resource for therapists who work with traumatized clients, but also for those who are seeking to heal from their personal stories of trauma.

Rescue Meditations for Anxiety and Panic

Have you ever experienced high levels of anxiety bordering on panic?  Symptoms like shortness of breath, chest pain or pressure, sweating, heart pounding, dizziness, and racing thoughts can be overwhelming when they arise.  And if it’s ever developed into a full-blown panic attack, you know the paralyzing fear that comes with that experience. 

When these symptoms arise for you, it’s a good idea to consult your medical doctor.  Some symptoms are shared in common with heart or lung issues, so you want to be sure there’s not an underlying medical concern that’s causing the symptoms.  But if you check with your doctor and you are otherwise physically healthy, your doctor might recommend psychological treatment and/or “rescue medications.”

Rescue medications, such as Xanax or Ativan, are anti-anxiety medications that help to bring your symptoms down to a manageable level when you are facing a high level of panic or anxiety.  I believe these medications can be helpful in crisis scenarios.

But if you don’t have these rescue medications or prefer a more natural approach, there are ways in which you can harness your body’s natural calming systems to relieve that anxiety.  Below are some suggestions for rescue “meditations” that you can do when you’re experiencing panic or even just feeling overwhelmed and stressed. 

If you find that these strategies aren’t effective or you’re continuing to experience symptoms, seek out help from your medical doctor or a mental health professional to address what is causing the panic.

Deep Breathing

When you’re panicked or anxious, breathing patterns are more shallow.  If you place a hand on your chest while you’re feeling stressed, you’ll likely find it rises and falls in short bursts.  The goal in taking deep breaths is to engage your diaphragmatic muscles in your abdomen.  This triggers your body’s natural calming system that helps you relax. 

To do this exercise, sit comfortably in a chair or lay on your back in a comfortable position.  Place one hand on your chest and one on your abdomen.  Take a few breaths and notice which hand moves.  Focus your breath so that your hand on your abdomen is rising and falling more with each breath.

Next, take a series of breaths with one of the following patterns:

• 4-square breathing: breathe in for 4 counts, hold at the top for 4 counts, breathe out for 4 counts, and hold the exhale for 4 counts

• 4-2-6 pattern breathing: breathe in for 4 counts, hold at the top for 2 counts, and breathe out for 6 counts

Do 10 repetitions of one of these patterns.  Using a breathing pattern that focuses on a longer exhale helps regulate the body. It activates the parasympathetic nervous system, the part of your body that calms the fight-or-flight response associated with anxiety and panic.

Guided Meditation for Anxiety (Yoga With Adriene)

On her YouTube channel, Adriene of Yoga with Adriene offers a playlist of short, guided meditations that can help you when your’e in a crisis.  She also has yoga practices designed to help you ground yourself or deal with anxiety on her YouTube channel.  If you have the time to do a longer workout or yoga practice, this might be a good fit for you.  Moving your body is a great way to deal with anxiety or panic.

Headspace or Other Meditation Apps

Headspace is a great app teaching the basic skills of meditation.  They include short videos describing how to approach meditation, and they offer their first 10 basic meditations for free. 

While you can only access those 10 meditations without a subscription, I’d recommend looking into their subscription, especially if you’d like to make meditation a more regular practice.  If you do have a subscription, here are a few of their “SOS” meditations I’d recommend:

SOS for Panicking

SOS for Feeling Overwhelmed

SOS for Flustered

There are plenty of other meditation apps that exist, such as Calm and 10% Happier. Try a few apps and decide which one you like best to use as a resource.

Visualize a Calm and Peaceful Place

Spend a few minutes thinking of a place you’ve been or that you create in your imagination where you can feel calm and peaceful. Identify what you see, hear, feel, taste, and smell in that image. Envision yourself there and notice what emotions it evokes. Pay attention to the pleasant feelings in your body and allow yourself to enjoy them.

5-4-3-2-1 Grounding Exercise

Start out by taking a few deep, abdominal breaths, as described above. 

Begin by noticing 5 items in the room around you that you see.  Say them out loud.  Describe the colors you see, Identify any textures you’re aware of on those items.

Next, notice 4 things you can feel without moving your body: it could be your clothing on your skin, the feel of the chair in which you’re sitting, or your feet on the floor.  Say these out loud as well.  Describe the sensation of those feelings. 

Then notice (aloud – catching a pattern?) 3 things you can hear.  Describe the sounds: whether they are consistent or intermittent, loud or soft, familiar or unfamiliar. 

Notice 2 things you can smell or two things of which you like the smell (as sometimes in a sterile environment there aren’t many smells).  Describe what these things smell like.

Finally, notice 1 thing you can taste or of which you like the taste.  Describe that taste to yourself. 

Regular Meditation Practice

What I’ve shared above are short, quick meditations that you can do in a crisis.  However, the strongest benefits of meditation have been shown when you implement a daily meditation practice over the long-term.  Daily meditation actually changes the structures of your brain associated with stress and calm.  If you find you like these strategies for calming yourself, I suggest that you try meditation daily.

These “rescue meditations” are a way to distract yourself from the symptoms of anxiety and calm your body down so you aren’t so overwhelmed.  However, they are not meant to completely resolve the anxiety.  The panic will continue to come back until you recognize the source of the anxiety and resolve it.  If you notice the panic continuing, consult a mental health professional to begin examining the potential sources of your distress.

Self-Care for When You Don't Have Time for Self-Care

Life is busy.  Whether you feel like a taxi driver for your children’s after-school activities, you’re working long hours at the office, you’re raising a newborn, or maybe all of the above, free time can be hard to come by. 

So when someone suggests that you take time for self-care, no wonder you laugh and say, “when do I have time for that?” 

Practicing self-care is an important part of taking care of your mental and physical health.  In particular, if you struggle with anxiety, depression, trauma, addiction, or other mental health issues, self-care is an essential part of healing. Even if you see the need for self-care in your life, it’s easy to feel like you don’t have the time to make it happen.

Perhaps it’s an issue of cost.  Trendy “self-care” tells you to go get a massage, take a vacation, or otherwise spend exorbitant amounts of money with the promise of “relaxation and rejuvenation.”  For most people, this isn’t practical or realistic. While sometimes you might want to “treat yo’ self,” for the most part you can do good quality self-care for free.

Maybe you’re over the trend of self-care justifying selfish and self-centered behaviors.  I get that.  It’s not meant to be “I do what I want” or “I do what feels good” all the time.  True quality self-care Is not designed to replace loving other people and being the best parent, friend, spouse, partner, child, employee, or person you can be.  It’s meant to prep you to fill those roles well without burning out.

Self-care involves physical, mental, emotional, spiritual, and relational health.  Sometimes self-care feels exactly like what you don’t want to do, but it’s what will be good for you in the long-term.  Think of it like training for a marathon: you may hate going on those longer runs, but you know in the long term your training will help you prepare your body for the race ahead of you.

How to Make Self-Care Work for You

Check your thoughts about self care.  If you’re looking at it as if it’s selfish or wrong, you won’t be able to benefit from it, instead getting distracted by feelings of guilt.  Reframe self-care as something you’re doing to take care of your mental health and better fill the roles in your life.  See self-care as a discipline, something you consciously consider.  Work it into your routine, like taking a vitamin. 

When you’re short on time, get creative about how you do self-care.  In a recent training I completed on compassion fatigue, the trainer talked extensively about a concept she calls “flexi-self-care.”  This type of self-care takes advantage of small bits of time you have throughout your day where you can pause for a moment and do something nurturing.  Identify for yourself ways to practice self-care that take as little as 1 minute and make a practice of trying these things lately.

Take a look at some of these examples of self-care on a time budget.

1 minute of self-care

• Take three long, slow, deep abdominal breaths. (It can help to place a hand on your abdomen to feel it rising and falling.)

• Do a yoga pose.

• Give a loved one a hug.

• Feel your feet flat on the ground, supported by the earth beneath them.

• Read a favorite quotation, affirmation, mantra, or Scripture verse.

• Look out a window and observe what’s happening outside.

• Identify what emotion you’re feeling currently and where you feel it in your body.

• Squeeze a stress ball.

• Look at a picture of a loved one. 

5 minutes of self-care

• 5-4-3-2-1 grounding exercise: name and describe 5 things you see, 4 things you feel without moving, 3 things you hear, 2 things you smell or like the smell of, and 1 thing you taste or like the taste of.

• Write a list of 10 things you are grateful for.

• Send a text to a friend.

• Stretch out sore muscles. 

• Four-square breathing: breathe in for 4 counts, hold for 4 counts, breathe out for 4 counts, hold for 4 counts.  Repeat 10 times.

• Complete one small item on a to-do list (ie. making a phone call, responding to an email, scheduling an appointment).

• Visualize a place that feels calm and peaceful and enjoy the sensations associated with it.

• Open a window and take a few deep breaths of fresh air.

• Drink a glass of water.

• Listen to your favorite song.

• Light a candle and watch the flame.

• Play with a pet.

• People-watch.

10 minutes of self-care

• Do a 10 minute YouTube workout. (I like this playlist from Yoga with Adriene.)

• Eat a healthy snack.

• Write in a journal.

• Put on a dance music playlist and dance around your space.

• Clean out your email inbox.

• Tidy a space in your home.

• Watch a YouTube tutorial for an activity you’re interested in learning.

• Work on a crossword puzzle or a word search.

• Play catch with a dog or child (or even with a wall!)

• Do a Headspace meditation.

• Watch a video that makes you laugh.

• Pray.

• Read a magazine article. 

20 minutes of self-care

• Go for a brisk walk outside.

• Read a chapter in a book.

• Listen to a podcast, lecture, or sermon about a topic that interests you.

• Call a friend, family member, or significant other on the phone to chat.

• Work on a craft project, draw, or paint.

• Write a thank-you note to someone.

• Make yourself a cup of tea or coffee and sip it slowly.

• Take a hot shower.

• Play a musical instrument.

• Clean a room in your home or your desk at work.

• Create a photo collage of images that help you feel loved, inspired, or that bring you joy.

Take these lists and make them your own.  Pay attention to how long it takes you to do these activities: you  may find that prayer can be as short as 1 minute, or your one yoga pose develops into a 10-minute yoga practice.  Be willing to be creative and try out some of these tools to make self-care something you can do every day, not just as a special treat.

How to Respond When Setting Boundaries Doesn't Work (Boundaries Series Part 2 of 2)

You’ve recognized your need for change.  You’ve established a boundary and communicated it to the other person.  You may have included a “cause-and-effect” style consequence.  But nothing’s changing.  What’s wrong?

Unfortunately, boundaries aren’t always as straightforward as they seem.  You can run in to several different roadblocks that interfere with effectively setting boundaries.  Here are a few thoughts to consider as you explore why your boundary-setting may not have worked as well as you expected.

Use the broken record method when communicating boundaries.

When you first communicate your boundary, you might receive a defensive response questioning your decision.  This can lead to self-doubt and hedging that makes your boundary less clear.

Instead, reaffirm your boundary by communicating it again.  For example, you might say, “I can understand your perspective and need for help, but I will not be able to take on that volunteer responsibility.” 

You may continue to receive defensive responses from the other person, but your job is to keep communicating that same boundary over and over again, like a broken record.  Hold fast to that boundary in order to protect your needs. 

Remind yourself of your authentic personal power and seek to meet your needs on your own.

Vicki Tidwell Palmer, in her book Moving Beyond Betrayal, uses the phrase authentic personal power to describe the difference between areas in which you have power or control and areas in which you do not.  You can control your own thoughts, actions, behaviors, emotions, and attitudes, but you can’t control the actions or emotions of others.  They may choose not to respect your requests or your boundaries.

Recognize the areas where you are powerless to change others and find ways that you can meet your own needs using your own power.  For example, you can leave the room when an argument with your spouse becomes too heated, or suggest outings other than shopping to your friend with whom you tend to overspend.  Recognizing where you have power allows you to avoid feeling like a victim.

If the outcome is outside of your control because it depends on the actions of someone else, seek creative ways to set boundaries and follow through on consequences to meet your own need.  For example, you could say, “If you choose to come home later than you communicated you would, I will not have dinner prepared and ready for you.”

Follow through on consequences communicated.

A boundary isn’t truly functional unless there is follow-through on the consequences for breaking it.  Often, in a life without boundaries, you’re absorbing the effects of another’s actions instead of allowing them to experience those consequences themselves.

In some cases, consequences are minor and may only have a small impact on the other person.  In choosing outings other than shopping with your friend, you’ll still be able to spend time together: it will just look different.  When you say “no” to a volunteer opportunity, the consequence is that the person who asks will simply have to ask someone else.

But in some cases, the consequences are more significant.  For the addict who continues to act out, they may have to face the consequences of separation or divorce.  These significant consequences often can be difficult for you as well. Be willing to count the cost of these more significant consequences and imagine how they’ll play out, including what you’ll need to reinforce them.  Imagining the story all the way through until the end will help prepare you in case you need to follow through.

It is important to recognize how the consequences you communicate will also affect you and be willing to follow through anyway. If not, your boundaries will be ineffective at allowing you to get your needs met.  For the addict, the most important part of rebuilding trust is to line up words with actions.  In boundary setting, you need to operate with much the same principle.

Get comfortable with saying “no.”

As silly as it may sound, practice saying “no” on your own or with other people.  Stand in front of a mirror and rehearse what you’re going to say in communicating your boundary.  Talk with a friend or therapist and ask them to help you rehearse how your conversation will go.

An added benefit of practicing your “no” with a trusted friend is that you’ll receive support for the boundaries you’d like to set.  You’ll be able to process who the boundary setting goes and having someone to care for you if things don’t turn out as expected.

Be willing to re-evaluate and compromise if needed.

While I often find that the major issue with setting boundaries is maintaining them, the opposite extreme can also come into play: boundaries that become too rigid and unchangeable.  For example, if you decide that your spouse’s late arrival means you won’t make dinner for him or her, what happens when your spouse was involved in a car accident or was caught in an unexpected storm?  It may be worthwhile to reconsider the consequence of the boundary in this situation.

Be willing to have conversations with your loved ones and offer grace in situations that are outside of their control.  Look for places to compromise when your loved ones have a hard time agreeing with or carrying out your boundaries.  What might be a solution in the middle where you could get both of your needs met? Ask what the other individual is willing to agree to and see if that works for you.

Part of revisiting your boundaries might involve acknowledging that you don’t have control over the behaviors and choices of your spouse or of the person with whom you’re setting boundaries.  Since healthy consequences are meant for self-care and not for maintaining control over the other person, your consequences may not lead to change in them.  Boundaries are not meant to control, but are meant to help you receive what you need.

In this case, you’ll likely grieve the loss of an ideal or hoped-for outcome.  If the other person doesn’t respond in the way you’d hoped, you might need to re-evaluate how to get your needs met on your own.  In extreme cases, like in failure to respect boundaries about sexual acting out behaviors outside the marriage, this may mean pursuing separation or divorce.

These general principles are meant to help resolve simple boundary violations or conflicts, but real life can be complicated beyond what these simple solutions can provide.  If you’re facing these more complex boundary situations, consider sitting down with a therapist to discuss how to set boundaries specific to your situation.