Similar to recovering from addiction, recovering from codependency can be a long and effortful time. However, there are many strategies for getting well. The first step is to admit that there is a problem, then to reach outside the family system for help, which may seem impossible to many people since many alcoholics live by the phrase, "Don't talk, don't trust, and don't feel." Reaching outside your family can feel like betrayal, but it is a very healthy step to take; sometimes only one person in a chemically dependent family actually gets outside help, but when everyone in the family looks for outside help and assumes responsibility for their role in the family, recovery from codependency can occur much more quickly. Many codependents need professional help, and individual and group counseling is available with a psychiatrist, psychologist, social worker, or therapist who is trained in chemical dependency and codependency, and family therapy is recommended and may help the family even if the addict refuses to take part. In addition, there are many support groups available for those involved in the lives of alcoholics and drug addicts, but the most widely known group is called Al-Anon, which is a worldwide self organization that welcomes family members and friends of alcoholics that offers a support system for coping, a program for regaining emotional and social health and it encourages detachment--the process of pulling back or separating from involvement with someone else's addiction and refusing to let that addiction rule one's life any longer.…
