Family members and loved ones can become excessively involved with one another to the point of blurred or ignored boundaries. A parent can, for example, share too much information with a child, and the child takes on the adult's emotional distress.
1. An enmeshed person can feel guilty about setting a boundary.
2. Enmeshment and codependency describe the same phenomenon.
3. Enmeshment can lead to parentification.
4. An enmeshed person cannot distinguish their feelings from the other person’s.
5. Enmeshed people experience emotional fusion.
6. In an enmeshed relationship, the other person becomes an extension of the self.
7. Enmeshment starts in adulthood.
8. An enmeshed person tries to avoid conflict.
9. Setting small boundaries can strengthen one’s own identity.
10. Identifying one’s goals and priorities can move a person away from enmeshment.