If you've clicked on this post, I sincerely thank you and respect you as a person for looking past my beliefs and trying to help me. Seriously. That takes a lot of wisdom. I am a 17 year old male, and ever since 8th grade I have basically been addicted to being in relationships. Every time I get out of one, I feel this need to be in a new one. I've done a little bit of introspection, and I found that the primary source of this burning need is that I want to validate myself as a person by doing nice things for my partner. Additionally, I have learned that I derive a lot of my self-worth from the praise and affection I recieve from a partner. I think I might be codependent. I've talked to my friends about it and the most meaningful advice I ever recieved was 'just learn to be happy with yourself lmao'. My question is this: HOW do I learn to be happy with myself? What specific things can I do to improve my independence?