Dear Meditators
First let’s read what Codependency and Addiction mean,
https://www.alinalodge.org/substance-abuse-treatment/codependency-and-addiction/
By Web Dev
Codependence can sometimes be described as an addiction to another person rather than an addiction to a particular substance. As a substance use disorder becomes a drug addiction, even the closest and most stable relationships can begin to erode. It can be a challenge for a person suffering from codependency and addiction to build and maintain healthy relationships.
What is Codependency?
Codependency is often defined as a relationship in which one partner has extreme physical or emotional needs, while the other spends the majority of their time responding to those needs. This often has a detrimental impact on codependent partners’ lives, activities, and the other relationships they try to develop and maintain. Codependency and addiction add another layer of difficulty which can cause a downward spiral where the codependent partner cares for and enables the loved one’s challenges, thus making it easier for the loved one to maintain the challenging or destructive behaviours.
Codependency and Addiction
Codependency and addiction do not necessarily go hand in hand. The impact of addiction on relationships was first recognized in family members of people struggling with alcoholism, and codependency is still common in those who have close relationships with people who struggle with addiction. Codependency and addiction can manifest in various ways, including:
Partners who are both using and abusing drugs
Close adult family members or significant others of individuals using drugs
Children of people who are addicted to drugs
The codependent partner in the relationship is not necessarily a spouse. When it comes to addiction and relationships, codependent behaviour can often be found in children. In fact, children of parents addicted to drugs and alcohol may become codependent when the addiction has gotten so bad that the child begins to feel the need to take on a caretaker role within the home because the parent is not fulfilling their responsibilities.
A short story about my own personal journey with codependency and addiction - until I learnt Vedic Meditation.
When I think of codependency and addiction, I think of stress, depression, burnout, relationship breakdowns, grieving and the overall problems that surround poor mental health.
For a long time, I had searched for answers -Why couldn’t I find happiness? Why was my life so challenging and hard all the time? What I didn’t realise was how much of my life was being controlled by outside influences. The decisions I made kept me repeating the same addictive patterns and creating the same life situations over and over again. Addictions, codependency and poor mental health always ended in suffering.
Does twice daily meditation help to stop codependency and addictive symptoms?
Does meditation help to cultivate good positive routines and habits?
Does meditation change people’s lives?
I say yes, yes, yes to these questions…….
What happened when I learned Vedic meditation?
After a few months of meditation, I began to have some amazing positive experiences. Feeling less stressed was the biggest reward, the fog lifted, clearer thinking and more in touch with what I needed to pay attention to. I let go of the useless negative self-talk/noise in my head. I kept meditating no matter what was happening in my life. And, there has been some big challenges.
What I began to experience from daily meditation was my thinking processes changed. Letting go of old patterns and behaviours meant that the chemicals in my nervous system changed and I began making good positive decisions about my behaviours. The chemicals in my body no longer craved or wanted the addictive, codependent behaviours to continue. Slowly, slowly, the self-talk which always ended in pain and suffering was no longer there. The happiness I was looking for became a reality.
What a beautiful gift I gave myself all those years ago. Meditating twice a day – is the most positive choice I have ever made in life. Meditation has become my addiction, only dependent on my Self, my inner Being that is the most reliable source I have ever known.
Until next time
Love & Jai Guru Deva
Liz
