Dependence means relying on someone or something for a need, task or part of life.
Human lives contain a great deal of it. Food, care, knowledge, transport, friendship. Becoming capable doesn’t make you self-created.
Needing help isn’t the same as surrendering every decision.
You may need support after an illness, with childcare, through grief or while learning something new. The important questions include whether the help is dependable, what power it creates and whether your preferences still matter.
Some dependence is chosen. Some comes from circumstances you didn’t choose. Neither can be judged fairly through a slogan about standing on your own feet.
You can want more freedom and still need care now. You can be grateful for help and want different terms around it.
Autonomy distinguishes choice from doing everything alone. Interdependence explores relationships in which relying on others and contributing can coexist without one person carrying everything.
Noba’s Relationships and Well-Being examines how connection relates to well-being. It offers a wider frame than treating every need for another person as a personal weakness.