Growing up with a parent with alcohol use disorder has real-life consequences for many adult children. Even long after leaving your parent’s home, you could still be dealing with the aftermath of their alcohol addiction. As painful as it is for someone to live with alcohol use Top 5 Advantages of Staying in a Sober Living House disorder, they aren’t the only ones affected. Their family members — especially children — are usually impacted by alcohol use, too. And even when these children become adults, it may continue to be a challenge to deal with their parent’s addiction and its lasting effects.
You Don’t Outgrow the Effects of an Alcoholic Parent
And while many ACoAs enter adulthood without any long-lasting effects,1 some people continue to experience problems stemming from trauma during their childhood. Whichever camp you’re in, it’s important to remember that whether or not you develop issues from your childhood is not a reflection of your character. If you grew up in an alcoholic or addicted family, chances are it had a profound impact on you. The feelings, personality traits, and relationship patterns that you developed to cope with an alcoholic parent, come with you to work, romantic relationships, parenting, and friendships.
Family and Children’s Programs
Children largely rely on their parents for guidance learning how to identify, express, and regulate emotions. But a parent with AUD may not have been able to offer the support you needed here, perhaps in part because they experienced https://thefloridadigest.com/top-5-advantages-of-staying-in-a-sober-living-house/ emotional dysregulation themselves. What’s more, children who had to act as parents to their own parents may go on to believe it’s their responsibility to take care of others, which can lead to codependent relationships.
How does alcohol use affect children?
They may be able to recommend the next steps, including referring you to a mental health professional if necessary. Studies show that children affected by parental drinking may develop serious problems in adulthood. Children of parents with harmful alcohol or substance use practices report navigating emotional internal (and sometimes external) conflict around the roles of their parents. That said, it’s important to recognize that behaviors resulting from this illness can have a negative impact on loved ones. Living with addiction can have lasting effects on a person, but it can also significantly affect their loved ones, particularly their children. Coping with the lasting effects of a parent’s alcohol use can be difficult, but you don’t have to do it alone.
- By Buddy TBuddy T is a writer and founding member of the Online Al-Anon Outreach Committee with decades of experience writing about alcoholism.
- Support in ACoA is available to help people overcome adversity and lead fulfilling and sober lives.
- This is a huge lesson for many—for better or worse, addiction is outside of friends’ and family members’ control.