The original concept of codependency was developed to acknowledge the responses and behaviors people develop from living with an alcoholic or substance abuser. A number of attributes can be developed as a result of those conditions. However, over the years, codependency has expanded into a definition which describes a dysfunctional pattern of living and problem solving learned by others in order to survive in a family which is experiencing conditions like chemical dependency; chronic mental illness; chronic physical illness; physical abuse; sexual abuse; emotional abuse; or divorce.

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