Counsellor/Therapist specialising in emotional dependence and relationship conflict

Emotionally dependent relationships (whether it is a love relationship, friendship or family relationship) are harmful and based on constant conflict. In these relationships, one person is the one who suffers from emotional dependence and puts aside their own needs to attend to those of the other person. Little by little, they cease to be themselves. On many occasions, the emotionally dependent person is the object of manipulation and psychological aggression on the part of the other person, which can go as far as physical abuse.

Emotional dependence is often rooted in attachment and developmental trauma experienced during childhood. Although in some cases the trauma experienced was severe (e.g., victims of sexual abuse and physical violence), in many others the damage was not so extreme but rather a consequence of growing up in a neglectful and emotionally deprived family environment, where we were not seen and did not feel unconditionally loved.