What is the difference between love addiction and codependency?
a. Love addiction refers to the destructive pattern of using the intoxication generated from love/relationships to help manage/stabilize their life. It is the euphoria/emotional intensity produced within the relationship (or pseudorelationship) that is the goal. b. Codependency is one of those terms that have been defined in so many different ways, that it has lost much of its value. But yes, there is A LOT of overlap between certain types of love addiction and codependency. In a nutshell, codependency refers to someone who has become so preoccupied and focused on the needs of another, that they completely neglect their own needs. Historically, this definition has been used to label just about any partner of an addicted person (no matter what the addiction)…who has shown a propensity to get involved in that recovery process. In reality, codependency applies to those individuals who willingly sacrifice their goals, their values, and their identity— in exchange for the emotional benefits
