The Truth About Codependency: Why It’s Not Empathy, It’s Survival w/ Dr. Sarah Michaud

You think you’re being helpful. Supportive. Loyal. But what if you’re actually just terrified of being abandoned? Codependency isn’t about caring too much — it’s about losing yourself to survive.

Dr. Sarah Michaud is a psychologist and author of Co-Crazy. Despite years of sobriety and a successful therapy practice, Sarah found herself trapped in a toxic relationship in recovery — a painful experience that finally forced her to confront the deep, unhealed trauma she didn’t even realize was still running the show.

🔑 Key Takeaways:

• Codependency isn’t selflessness — it’s a survival response wired by emotional neglect, fear, and unresolved trauma
• The myth of being “fine”: how high-functioning codependents stay sober, help others, and still avoid their deepest pain
• Why we mistake fear-based caretaking for empathy — and how to finally tell the difference
• The grief of healing: letting go of relationships that only worked when we didn’t express needs or take up space
• What real recovery from codependency looks like — beyond insight, beyond sobriety, and deep into the body

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