It’s somewhat fitting that codependency and enmeshment are so frequently confused with one another, and used interchangeably as terms. Both are disorders of the identity, and both revolve around the submission of the self to someone else. With each, there is a blurring of boundaries, unreasonable expectations, and a closeness that borders on unhealthy.
Narcissism gets thrown around quite a bit on social media these days, and there’s certainly more awareness of it than there has been in the past. Even so, people often still underestimate the chaos and turmoil that come hand-in-hand when you’re tangled up with a narcissist.
We’re taught from the time we’re very young about the importance of love and romance. So many of us are raised to think of it as our purpose in life and the one path toward true happiness. Like a dog chasing a car, we rarely stop to think about what we’ll do once we catch it. What good is finding love if we don’t know how to keep it?
Whether you’ve been in a relationship for a while or you’re still playing the field looking for love, it’s useful to start figuring out what your boundaries are. During the early stages of a relationship, it can be tempting to brush off red flags because you’re so excited to meet someone you click with.
