Seesawing through extremes in life: 'Like a seesaw, I feel out of control'. An exploration of the lived experience of codependency through IPA

Codependency is a highly contested construct featuring in the popular clinical and research literature (Beattie 2009, Denning 2010, Marks, Blore, Hine and Dear 2011). Within the academic literature, the voices and lived... [ view full abstract ]

Codependency is a highly contested construct featuring in the popular clinical and research literature (Beattie 2009, Denning 2010, Marks, Blore, Hine and Dear 2011). Within the academic literature, the voices and lived experience of individuals who consider themselves codependents are mostly unavailable.

This Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) study explored the lived experiences of 8 self-identified as codependents, who chose 12-Step recovery groups to frame their recovery process. The idiographic, phenomenological and hermeneutic aspects of the study captured how participants made sense of their experiences of codependency.

The information was collected over 6 months by three in-depth semi-structured interviews and a visual method, in which participants selected images which expressed the meaning of codependency.

Four main themes emerged from the analysis of the interviews: Codependency experienced as real and tangible: ‘Codependency explains everything’. Experiencing an undefined sense of self: ‘Codependency helps me to discover my sense of self.’ Seesawing through extremes in life: ‘Like a seesaw, I feel out of control’. Finding meaning in codependency through exploring family experiences: ‘Down to childhood’.

The findings revealed that the experience of codependency frames these individuals’ sense of identity and their occupational lives. Although the findings are not generalizable, they inform clinical practice highlighting a role for occupational therapists working with this group. They reveal participants’ ‘extreme’ oscillation in activity engagement and occupational imbalance, adding an important novel aspect to occupational therapy practice. Occupational therapy interventions might be effective in assisting these individuals in reaching a more balanced occupational engagement in meaningful activities.