Shaking off shackles of an addictive love

As singer Lily Allen refers to co-dependency on her dating app profile, Dr Raj Persaud explains why this is a recipe for heartache

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op star Lily Allen is said to have described herself as a “raging codependent” in her profile on celeb dating app Raya, having split from actor husband David Harbour. Codependency is a controversial term in psychotherapy. ‘And whenever people bandy psychobabble around, it can be a hint they have been in therapy, and it’s led them to over-therapise the world.

Deploying the term might be sending a message out in the dating world that you prefer others who have also been in therapy, and can understand this somewhat technical language of self-loathing.