What is too independent?
Excessive or extreme dependence on oneself to the point of never asking for support or help from others is a characteristic of a person with excessive independence.
According to psychologist and psychotherapist Priyanka Kapoor, people who are too independent are willing to take on physical or mental health pressures but do not accept help from others. This help can be financial, mental, physical, or emotional. These people often do not like to depend on or accept help and tend to handle things on their own, even when it is a burden or unnecessary.
An individual’s over-independence can be a response to trauma. This often occurs in people who have been betrayed, abandoned, or not supported enough in the past. Relying solely on oneself is a coping strategy, keeping oneself safe from future harm. Over-independence can also be the result of severe financial hardship in childhood, family instability, bullying at home or school, and parental neglect.
Side effects of excessive independence
Fatigue: Being too independent causes people to take on too many obligations, which can leave them exhausted both mentally and physically.
Cracks in connections: People who are too independent often avoid asking for support or help, which can cause cracks in relationships with friends, family, and coworkers and lead to tense or superficial interactions.
Increased stress: Excessive independence exacerbates loneliness, stress, anxiety and depression, which affects both physical and mental health.
Blocking room for growth: Refusing support can reduce opportunities for personal growth and learning from others. This is because less social interaction makes us less likely to learn and improve in areas where we are lacking.
Rigidity, inflexibility: When we live in our own space, we become very familiar with our way of living and thinking. And staying there for too long is likely to make us rigid or inflexible.
