Closely related to Co-dependency is another disease that is also pandemic; it’s called approval addiction. This is where my sense of self-worth, well-being and happiness are dependent on someone else. It is where in order to feel good about myself I need to look to someone else for approval and validation. If he or she loves me and smiles approvingly I’m having a good day. However, everyone’s emotions are subject to change, and if he or she is having a bad hair day and feeling a bit crunchy I shouldn’t need to get my comb out. One of the great regrets of those who are dying is that they lived too much of the life that others wanted and expected them to live but not the life they wanted. The sense of having sold out on oneself becomes a serious matter when the curtain is ready to drop.
