What it is
Hyper-independence is a popular term, not a clinical diagnosis, for independence pushed past what’s healthy. The person feels they have to handle everything alone and has a hard time asking for help, or even accepting it when it’s offered.
The writers who use the term usually describe it as a pattern that follows hurt: if relying on people once cost you, doing it all yourself starts to feel like safety.
How it shows up for me
I’ve been hyper-independent since I was sixteen. It made me capable, and it made me lonely in ways I didn’t notice for a long time. Letting someone help me with something I could do myself is still one of the harder things I practice.