Therapy for co-dependent relationships in Bristol?

There’s a kind of relationship that doesn’t shout or explode — it seeps. Slowly. Quietly. You stop asking for what you need. You worry about upsetting the other person. You bend yourself into ways that don’t quite fit. You call it love. And in many ways, it is. But it's also something else: co-dependency

Co-dependent?

Co-depenct?

Co-dependency is when your sense of identity becomes tied up in someone else’s emotional state. You find yourself:

• Always putting their needs first.

• Feeling responsible for their happiness (or pain).

• Avoiding conflict because it feels like abandonment.

• Feeling anxious, guilty, or ashamed when you try to prioritise yourself.

You might not even realise it’s happening — it often begins with care, closeness, or deep love. But soon, you notice you're disappearing in the process.

Where Co-dependency Come From?

Co-dependency is often a learned way of being — rooted in early relationships where love was conditional or unpredictable. If, as a child, you had to be “the good one,” stay small, or manage a parent’s emotions to feel safe, co-dependency can feel oddly familiar in adult relationships.

What Healing Looks Like?

Healing co-dependency isn’t about becoming distant or avoiding intimacy. It’s about:

• Rebuilding a relationship with yourself.

• Learning how to say “no” without guilt.

• Trusting that you can be loved without self-sacrifice.

• Practising boundaries that don’t push people away — but protect connection.

Therapy can be a space to explore all of this. Together, we look at the old beliefs that shaped your ways of relating. We notice the patterns that feel familiar but painful. And gently, you begin to reclaim the parts of yourself that got left behind.

If this feels familiar to you, you’re not alone. And it can change.

My experience of a Co-depent relationhsip

I was once in a co-dependent relationship where both my ex-partner and I became quite isolated. It often felt like we had no one else around us—no one we could really connect with outside of each other. That deep dependency grew out of moving frequently, not building connections with others, and trying so hard to keep each other happy.

Over time, other relationships—friendships, family ties—gradually faded. Reaching out to others started to feel like I was somehow betraying my partner. And when I did spend time with someone else, it came with a heavy sense of guilt—for both of us.

But in any healthy relationship, it’s so important for both people to maintain a strong sense of self. Each person needs space to pursue their own interests, structure, joys, and personal growth—alongside the things they share as a couple.

Setting clear boundaries and being honest about our individual needs can be an act of care—not just for ourselves, but for the relationship too. Sometimes, meeting those needs may happen through different aspects of life: friendships, hobbies, work, or family. And that’s not only okay—it’s necessary.

Explore your co-depent relationship with IvoMarquesTherapy.com in Bristol, Clifton