Codependency Treatment and Recovery at The Sanctuary

What is Codependency?

If you look behind addictions, disempowering and self-destructive thoughts, beliefs and behaviors and many mental disorders, you will find at their core is codependency.  This is a term that is now familiar in the main stream treatment modalities, but what exactly is it?  Common definitions of codependency are a person who is a martyr, a caretaker or someone married to an addict of one type or another.  Codependency can be this, but it is so much more, and just like untreated addictions, it kills.

Codependency at its core is when a person gives his or her power away to a person, place or thing to the detriment of his or her own needs.  Although giving of oneself and even self-sacrifice are necessary at times, when this behavior becomes a way of living life, this is called codependency.  Another simple definition of codependency is an unequal exchange of energy between people; when one person is habitually giving more in a relationship than the other.

Codependency is based in a core fear that the world is unsafe. This is a very real fear that many people learn as “truth” when growing up in dysfunctional homes. Often codependent behaviors include the need to control, manipulate, obsess and worry about external circumstances in order to feel safe. 

Some examples of how codependency manifests in people’s lives are:

• Believing that taking care of your own needs before someone else’s is “selfish”.
• That your needs are not important.
• Not even knowing what your needs are.
• That if only the other person or some external circumstance changed, you could be happy.
• That if you do not stay on “alert” and hyper vigilant in your life, the “other shoe will drop”.
• That it is your responsibility to “fix” someone else.

Unlike other addictions, codependency is encouraged in our world.  The “martyr” is revered and speaking or living in your truth is discouraged.  Codependency is an epidemic and is at the core of most depression and anxiety disorders. When a person does not connect with their authentic self and follow their own heart’s desire, a person will begin to feel resentful, unappreciated, drained and despairing. This state of disconnection is so painful, people search out relief through substances, prescription drugs, food, obsessive compulsiveness and a myriad of other disempowering behaviors to distract, medicate and numb the bad feelings.

Eventually all the coping mechanisms quit working. This is a blessing and an opportunity to make the shift from feeling like a victim to the external world (your spouse’s moods or destructive behaviors, your children’s lives, your job, the stock market etc.) to going within and finding you own inner voice and personal power. You can begin to recover and discover your own heart’s desire, your soul’s song, your source of joy and happiness, independent from external circumstances, and find the strength to create the life you want.

Can Radical Transformation™ Help the Codependent?

Yes! The Sanctuary at Sedona offers a Shamanic 4-Step Program for Recovery regardless of how Codependency crisis is showing up in your life, whether it is physical (disease, illness, weight), emotional (depression, anxiety, addiction), soul (mid-life crisis, lack of purpose, direction or meaning) or spirit (toxic energy patterns, re-occurring disease patterns). Our Program is a unique 4-Step Program designed to work simultaneously on healing and integrating the mind, body, soul and spirit.

You will be taken through our 4-week, 4-step holistic Program. Each step of the Program is 1 week. Because each person is unique, your program would be specifically designed to meet your needs. Our Program can be completed in either a one 4-week period, or broken down into individual 1-week periods that can be spread out over time.

Please call 928-639-1300 to find out if our
Radical Transformation™ Program is right for you.

 

Learn about STEP 1: Healing the Body

Radical Transformation™: The 4 Steps