Codependency and Forgiveness - Yes or No?
If you and I are honest for just a moment, there are probably a hand full of people we could easily get very upset over even to the point of rage. They did wrong by us. Hurt us. Abandoned us. So is it possible to forgive them? Is it even necessary? What forgiveness is - and what it is not "I can never forgive them for what they did to me." This could be people from your childhood or from adult relationships. Being the victim of abuse of any kind is a profoundly painful position for anyone. But for the codependent, it's especially difficult, because in addition to being the victim, we also believe we have the burden of being responsible for keeping the very people who hurt us happy in whatever twisted dynamic each relationship embraced. So the victim not only has unresolved trauma but also guilt. How does anyone find the strength to do that? For those people, forgiveness will never look like this: 1. I forgive you 2. You accept my forgiveness 3. We n