5 signs that say you are heavily dependent on your partner

Some amount of co-dependency is acceptable when you are romantically involved with someone.

After all, that’s what a life partner is for—someone to share your problems with, celebrate your victories or attend important life events with.

Hence, it’s not surprising to find partners who do a lot of things together, like attending parties, shopping or having a joint bank account.

Sometimes, this dependency on a partner can go wrong on so many levels that it might start affecting the relationship.

For a relationship or marriage to last long, the partners should learn to give each other some space.

According to relationship experts, if you are looking for someone to complete you and thereby become totally dependant on that person for your survival, it can be a red flag for the relationship.

So, let’s look at a few signs that say you are being over-dependant on your partner and it can spell doom for the relationship.

Do you remember the last time you went to the bank alone? Or, partied with your friends without your partner accompanying you? If you said no, you already know what this behaviour can be defined as. A person who has this habit of doing everything with his partner is often filled with anxiety when he faces any situation where he has to act alone. What is seemingly a normal thing or other individuals may appear like a challenge for him. This is not a healthy habit and sooner you change this, the better it will be for you.

Are you among those people, who let their partner control their happiness? This is not only bad for your relationship but can leave you feeling dissatisfied and discontent often. It’s important to have control over your own happiness or the things that make you happy. Giving someone the power of making you happy can be a big risk—it can also be very overwhelming for a partner when he is given this impossible responsibility.

If you depend on your partner to make every decision—from random to life-changing ones—then you are none but an overgrown child. Remember the days when your parents used to choose what you would be wearing, selecting the best college where you should apply or to some extent they would even supervise the company of people you would be spending time with. So, do not treat your partner as your parent or guardian. Such behaviour can push your partner away from you.

Being in a relationship with someone does not mean you should have the same circle of friends like your partner. Overdependency occurs when you are totally dependant on your partner for everything—including friends. Doing so would make your partner feel suffocated and there might come a time when he would crave some distance from you. To have a healthy and stable relationship with a partner, you need to have people in your life apart from that one person.

You seek your partner’s validation for the simplest of things you do. Without your partner’s approval it’s very difficult, and to some extent almost impossible, to carry out daily affairs like deciding what to cook for the day or making a short trip to the market. And you wait impatiently to win praises from your partner for doing something good. Such kind of behaviour is likely to spell doom for you and the relationship in the future.