Enmeshment is a psychological term used to describe a relationship, often familial, where personal boundaries are abandoned in favor of maintaining the whole. Where love, closeness, and support become entanglement, control, and fear. Where the development of personal autonomy is hindered and even discouraged. Where the individual becomes so dependent on the other(s) they cannot imagine a world in which they could survive on their own. On the outside, the relationship may seem happy and close-knit, but the internal reality is one of strain and confusion.