Co-Dependents Anonymous

Co-Dependents Anonymous (CoDA) is a twelve-step program for people who share a common desire to develop functional and healthy relationships.^[1][2] CoDA was founded in 1986 in Phoenix, Arizona. CoDA is active in more than 40 countries, with approximately 1200 groups active in the United States.^{[citation needed]}

Additional recommended knowledge

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Daily Sensitivity Test

Codependence is described as a disease that originates in dysfunctional families where children learn to overcompensate for their parent's disorders and develop an excessive sensitivity to other's needs. The term "dysfunctional family" originally referred only to families with patterns of interaction associated with alcoholism. It is now, however, recognized as a disease occurring in family systems based on "denial" or "shame-based rules." This includes a wide-spectrum of pathological emotional interactions in families, but there is always an avoidance of confrontation and inability to resolve conflict. This is sometimes described in terms like "enmeshment" or "blurred ego boundaries." Adult children of dysfunctional families suffer from a sense of confusion and deprivation that has continued into their adult life — a feeling of "not knowing what normal is" — that has become an anguished desire to recover something emotionally missing in their upbringing. Co-Dependents Anonymous was formed to help individuals who grew up in all dysfunctional families, not just those involving alcoholism or substance abuse.^[3]

Codependence can be defined as a "process addiction" — an addiction to certain mood-altering behaviors, other such examples being: eating disorders, gambling, sexual activity, overwork, and shopping. Process addiction can be seen as a unifying principle, providing those in CoDA with a language to describe their disease.^[1] Codependence has been suggested as an underlying disease pervasive in all forms of addiction.^[4]

CoDA created a 38-item Likert-type checklist allowing one to evaluate how codependent they are. Possible scores range from 38 to 190, with higher scores representing greater codependence.^[5] The results of this instrument are strongly related to those of the Spann-Fisher Codependency scale and other such tests measuring codependence.^[6]

CoDA has one book approved for use as standard literature in the organization, titled Co-Dependents Anonymous.^[7] In addition, there are two more CoDA-endorsed books including a workbook and a book of daily meditations.^{[citation needed]}

See also

References