A meme on codependent relationships I found for my Relationships for Highly Sensitive People workshop (you can catch the replay & the HSP community HERE) sparked this art idea:

I toootally lost myself in relationships before building a solid sense of myself. I catered to whatever the other person wanted, needed, or preferred, and at my lowest times, didn’t know who I was anymore.

This happens often to empaths and Highly Sensitive People, especially if we’ve also been through trauma where we experienced abuse, neglect, or reverse-caretaking for our caregivers.

Instead of essentially becoming the same as the other person:

Or swinging too far in the opposite direction (as I definitely did for a period in my life as an over-compensation):

I now strive for a healthy interdependence, where I allow myself to accept influence from the other person (since it’s true that we ARE the average of the 5 people we spend the most time with), take on parts of them and their colors, but still maintain my own.

Instead of fusing into essentially the same person & losing oneself in codependent relationships, each person keeping some of their uniqueness leads to a healthy INTERdependence.

Plus, there would be more that we can learn from one another since no 2 gummies would be alike.

Keep your color, and enjoy your unique rainbow!



What’s your opinion on this topic? Leave me a comment or message, I’d love to hear!

If you’d like 1:1 or 2:1 couples relationship coaching, I recently graduated from The Center for Thriving Relationships coaching certification! Send me a message or email DrTooni@mail.com to grab a discounted first session <3