I [23F] realized that I am in a codependent relationship with my BF [24M] of 1.5 years. I have no idea what to do... Should I leave him or what?
My boyfriend lost his job back in October, and I feel so horrible for him. I've tried to be as supportive as I possibly can but I'm starting to realize that I'm enabling his immaturity and irresponsibility.
I realized this in the past couple days because he is away on a trip that I helped fund a significant part of. We spend every waking moment I'm not working with each other and I feel like the time away from his has allowed me to reflect on things. He decided that he wanted to go on this trip right after he lost his job and so he bought his plane ticket down there and a music festival ticket in the country he is visiting. He wanted me to go with him but the lineup was super weak and I wasn't going to spend all that money to see a bunch of people I don't know. Additionally, I thought it was important for him to spend time with his friend. I said I would help him pay for it if he didn't find a job in the four months till the trip. I just really knew it would mean a lot to him to get to go on such an awesome trip with his good friend. So I started to fund things like paying for his passport for him and his daily expenses. Whenever we would go out I would obviously pay for everything. He lives at home so rent isn't an issue. I guess I also thought he would have a job by now. I started to get frustrated because he wasn't really taking his job search seriously (I don't think he's written a cover letter yet and has only been applying to jobs that don't require them) so I started voicing my concerns of his trip (not finding a job in time to be established enough to leave, not being professional by leaving for 10 days right after he starts). He said it would be okay. As the date for his departure came closer, he was being strung along by a job offer that he didn't end up getting because of his background check. In this time he received an email from the airline saying he could cancel his flight if he would like because the spread of the Zika virus in the country he was traveling to. Also during this time, I totally broke my phone. So here we were before the trip, no job, a way to get his money back, more expenses on my end and just not enough money. But he was driven to go and he went. I would say things like "I can't fix my phone because I am loaning you money". Super passive aggressive I know, I'm super upset at myself, but he just wanted to go. He said he felt bad but still took the additional $650 from me and I'm stuck at home with no money and a dysfunctional phone.
I was a little upset that he wouldn't weigh out all the negatives and positives of the trip. How it hurt both me and him. (I'm most upset about his career and that he's taking an additional 10 days from applying to jobs). But then I realized how much of this is also my fault. I should have never offered to help him pay for it. I should have said no at some point. His friend is a huge sweetheart, and I know she would have understood he couldn't go if he still didn't have a job or his own money to go. But I didn't push it. I just gave him everything I had for him to go. Possibly sacrificing the trips I had planned to go on to visit friends abroad. I already had to tell my parents I couldn't afford to pay my way to go with them on vacation.
I've realized this and I've realized that this isn't the first time I've done stuff like this. There have been times where I was only working part time as I was trying to find a new job and paying rent and I would lend him money to go to a music festival even though he was working. I'm always the one to max out my credit card so we can have fun. (I was trying to fix my finances as I've gotten a lot better job but this trip and him not having a job has gotten in the way of that). If he's having a hard time, I will do anything and everything to make him feel better. But I'm starting to realize that it's hurting me. My best friend was pissed off at him because she saw that he texted me on my birthday to ask for money so he could get a drink with his friend. But it wasn't him being shitty, it was that I had offered to give him money to go get a drink with his friend who happened to be at the same concert as us.
I know all of this stuff isn't malicious on his part. He's really become a lot more loving and attentive to my feelings in the past 5 months. Our relationship is better than ever. He's there for me when I have freak outs. We love each other very much. We spend too much time together but that's how I am the most comfortable.
I know all of this is all mostly my fault. But what should I do? I know I need a counselor, I was seeing someone but he would talk about himself during our appointments and it was weirding me out. I need a new counselor. But that counselor didn't like my boyfriend and said he was a narcissist. Should I break up with him because of my mental issues? If I should try to talk it out with him, what should I say? I'm so sad that I've realized that the relationship I have with the man I love is so dysfunctional because of me. It's just my personality.
TL:DR My boyfriend is pretty immature and I am enabling to behave so.
Posted Feb 22, 2016, 5:31 AM UTC · edited