People often confuse independence with the ability to feed themselves only. In actual reality, independence doesn’t necessarily mean being emotionally independent.
So what is emotional dependence? To put it simply, emotional dependence just as dangerous as drug addiction; hard as you may try, you fail to give up a partner who mistreat you or your emotional state depends a lot on how others treat you.
I used to hear of a female professor, who failed to abandon her husband although he beat her often. Later, I learned that in the past, her father left his wife and his children, for which she partly blamed herself. The break-up with the first husband confirmed her feeling that she was not worth being loved. I am convinced that her situation where the emotional independence has been long lost, is obvious due to her troubled past experience.
We can see many other cases of emotional dependence in our real life. Some people never cease to moan about being uncared for or spend hours longing for messages from boyfriends or girlfriends without focusing on their study or work. Also, some people easily lose temper at their colleagues’ feedback however constructive the comments are. When our emotional states are vulnerable to any external forces, our life will be flung into the world of turbulence where peace and happiness are never to be found.
What do you think? Come to Advance Hanoi this Sunday to voice your opinion and have fruitful discussion.
QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION:
1. What is emotional dependence in your own words? Give some examples of emotional dependence you know.
2. How many types of emotional dependence are there? What type does great harm to your love life and career path?
3. What are signs of emotional dependence?
4. What are the causes of emotional dependence? To what extent does fear play a part in provoking emotional dependence?
5. How can we achieve emotional independence?
REFERENCES:
https://exploringyourmind.com/3-types-emotional-dependence/
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/evolution-the-self/201904/are-you-too-emotionally-dependent-your-partner
https://www.wikihow.com/Overcome-Emotional-Dependency
Prepared by: May Ng
Enjoy and have a fruitful discussion!
Advance English club
Address: Nguyen Cong Tru Secondary School – No. 8 Nguyen Truong To, Hanoi
Youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/AdvanceEnglishClub
