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according to American addiction centers
roughly 45% of the u.s. population has
been exposed to some form of alcoholism
or alcoholic behavior within their
family this translates to as many as 76
million people and approximately 26
million of those individuals are
children our purpose is to create a
space where you feel safe heard and
connected in regards to the struggles
you face even though this article
pertains to alcoholic parents if you
were raised in a household that had
overly strict religious attitudes
parents with chronic illnesses or
parents exhibiting other compulsive
behavior such as gambling drug abuse or
overeating then you may also find it
relatable we hope that by passing along
the following information it helps you
understand what's happening whether that
pertains to the relationship you have
with others or the conflict you
experience internally here's seven ways
alcoholic parents affect their children
number one you have a hard time
understanding what normal healthy family
relationships are adult children
struggle with understanding what a
normal family is like because they don't
have an example to follow during their
childhood as a result they have to guess
what it means to be normal they may also
not understand the difference between
good role models and bad ones when
you're little you expect your parents to
be superheroes so their behavior and
actions are never wrong even if they
hurt you number two you're hard on
yourself and you find it challenging to
relax or make light of situations
children of alcoholic parents have a
hard time giving themselves a break they
often feel like they have to go the
extra mile and do things to the best of
their ability because they feel like a
failure otherwise as a result children
of alcoholic parents may grow up with
identity issues because they're unsure
about who they are when they aren't
doing more to fulfill themselves
number three you have trust issues which
makes it difficult for you to establish
close intimate relationships children
who grow up with alcoholic parents find
it hard to trust others when they
experience such a chaotic relationship
with them it's their first relationship
they ever built which leaves a huge
scarring effect that unfortunately
influences the way they form
relationships later on in their
adulthood they have difficulty being
vulnerable and opening up afraid that
someone will hurt or betray them because
they've been constantly led down by
their parents toxic behavior number four
you're frightened by conflict angry
people and authority figures in general
alcoholic parents can be angry mean and
abusive as a result children who grow up
with them may experience verbal physical
and/or sexual abuse because their
parents may not have created a safe
space where they were allowed to express
their emotions they may try to avoid
conflict at all costs because they fear
upsetting their parents this makes it
hard for children to confront their
alcoholic parents about issues that hurt
or bother them number five you have a
fear of being abandoned alcoholic
parents are often emotionally or
physically unavailable as a result
children who are raised by them often
develop a fear of being abandoned when
they find themselves in relationships
that are bad for them they don't always
know how to leave them because the
thought of being alone scares them more
number six you're either super
responsible and half perfectionistic
tendencies or the opposite children who
grow up with alcoholic parents may have
faced a lot of harsh criticism from them
this often causes the child to try to be
perfect in order to avoid hearing
hurtful words as a result children of
alcoholic parents may grow up to be
workaholics and overachievers they also
tend to blame themselves so they may
take responsibility for problems that
weren't even their own on the other hand
children who grew up with alcoholic
parents may become irresponsible too
when they've given up on trying to be
perfect since their parents always
criticized them they may not see the
point in trying at all
number seven you may often be attracted
to excitement and want to save people
confusing love with pity children of
alcoholics are often attracted to
excitement because they have experienced
an unpredictable rollercoaster of chaos
as a result they mistake that sort of
instability as passion so they seek the
same kind of experience within the
romantic relationships often adult
children of alcoholics are attracted to
cold and emotionally unavailable
partners who they try to fix or save it
makes them feel wanted
but those type of relationships are
inevitably sour when they entered them
offer the wrong reasons initially living
in a household that negatively affected
your personal growth can be difficult we
want to let you know that you're not
alone and encourage you to share your
story with us in the comments below on a
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