Codependency (Part Two): Personal Boundaries

by Alexis Pardo, LCSW - Licensed Clinical Social Worker at Agape Therapy Institute in Downtown Orlando

In codependent relationships personal boundaries can be blurred and the people in the relationships often feel like they are always doing so much for the other person with little return. 

I frequently hear my clients say “I’m ALWAYS doing EVERYTHING for them and they do NOTHING.” With some probing, I frequently hear my clients say that they don’t speak up because they don’t want to make the other person feel bad. In the meantime my client is left feeling taken advantage of because they continue to do things that they don’t want to do but never communicate that with the other person clearly. 

It’s important to remember that it is our job to recognize how much we are willing to d ...

Read more

Codependency (Part One)

by Alexis Pardo, LCSW

Over the next two posts I’m going to cover codependency and how to start moving towards peace. 

At my office, I see it often: a client who is making up excuses for (fill in the blank: mom, dad, sibling, partner). My clients simultaneously have a strong desire to care for this person, but also find themselves feeling disappointed, frustrated and hurt by this person’s behaviors. They’re left feeling empty, sad, anxious, with low self-esteem, and often questioning themselves and every decision they make. 

Below I detail what codependency is, how to identify codependency in your own life, and how to know when to get help. 

What is codependency? 

Codependency ...

Read more

As a born a bred New Yorker, this day is a hard one for me to swallow.  It was the day the face of my home was forever changed, the day life as we knew it in this country forever changed, and it ushered in a time of fear, worry and resilience.   I was not in NY on 9/11 but that doesn’t mean like so many others in our country and around the world we were not affected. I know I was.

I remember thinking how sorry I felt for the pilot who was not able to miss a 110 story tall building.  How naïve I was, but then the second plane crashed, and the third, and the fourth…. I was at work watching my world forever change not knowing what I was witnessing. But 17 years later as I watch the opening of the remembrance ceremony at ground zero my eyes well with tears as my throat closes and I want to weep for all of those who were lost 17 years ago today.  I also grieve for the way of life that was take from us on that fateful day. ...

Read more