(Ep. 24) Codependency

What if the exhausting work of keeping everyone around you okay is the very thing keeping you from the connection you're aching for?In this episode of Triggered & True, Laura Duncan and co-host Brian Freise tackle codependence — and cut through the buzzwords with a one-sentence test simple enough to change how you see every relationship. It starts with a listener's question about staying close to a hurtful family member, and opens into something universal: how do we stay connected to people who do things we don't like, without losing ourselves?Laura's definition is disarmingly clear: you're in codependence when I'm not okay if ___ isn't okay — when you need a person, a circumstance, even God to be okay in order for you to be okay. From there she and Brian explore why the fix is counterintuitive (the problem is never really the other person), why walking on eggshells and "fixing" everyone actually breeds resentment and dependency rather than closeness, and why helpers, counselors, and caregivers burn out carrying a weight that was never theirs to hold. At the heart of it is a gentler way to love: the image of a father simply staying present through his child's whole tantrum — not fixing, just being with — because connection with others begins with connection to your own heart.In this episode: 🔹 The one-sentence codependence test: "I'm not okay if ___ isn't okay. " 🔹 What "being okay" really means — clear-minded, tender-hearted, and at peace (not necessarily happy) 🔹 Why fixing and people-pleasing breed resentment and dependency instead of the closeness you want 🔹 Helper burnout: why counselors, pastors, and caregivers carry a weight that was never theirs 🔹 The power of "being with": how a parent staying through a tantrum models actual connection📩 Get your free Weekly Dose of Compassion — two short notes in your inbox every week. One to speak over yourself. One from Laura: https://www.lauraduncan.com/pl/2148814868🔗 Learn more: https://triggeredandtrue.comhttps://lauraduncan.com