I’m Cassandra Kali & I’m sharing my heartbreak, healing, & hope with Adult Children of Alcoholics & others who grew up in dysfunctional situations
Questions you might be asking…
What’s an Adult Child of Alcoholics? Adult Child of an Alcoholic (ACoA) is a term used to describe someone who grew up in a family system affected by alcoholism, addiction, or any other dysfunctional and unhealthy situations. You’ll also see the term Children of Alcoholics (CoA) used in the exact same way. Because alcoholism and addiction are progressive and invasive diseases (like the zombie virus!), even being raised by an Adult Child of an Alcoholic can have long-lasting affects and create serious challenges for you.
Can being raised by an alcoholic/addict really cause so many problems? The short-answer is absolute-a-freaking yes…
- Alcohol abuse is much more prevalent in cases of child abuse than any other factor, such as parental depression or teen parenting.
- Children of alcoholics tend to score lower when it comes to verbal skills and cognitive ability. This can interfere with their performance at school and with interpersonal relationships and friendships. In later life it can also interfere with their ability to handle job interviews.
- Children of alcoholics are three times more likely to marry those with an alcohol abuse problem, when compared to the general population.
- Children of alcoholics are four times more likely to grow up to be alcoholics themselves, when compared to the general population.
- Researchers have said that alcoholism is typically accompanied by other problems related to their addiction, including a lack of effective communication, nonexistent parenting skills, homes with no set schedules, structure or discipline, escalated conflict in the home including fighting and arguing, family isolation in the community because of the abuse of alcohol, and financial issues. 😔
Wow, this really resonates with me. What should I do next? First of all, congratulate yourself for being willing to follow a hunch and look further! Go you! 🤗 After that, you have options. You can look for an Al-Anon or Adult Children of Alcoholics (ACA) meeting in your area. Go to a meeting and let them know you’re just seeing if it fits. No big deal. You can look for books on the subject – the local library usually has them to borrow for free. If that feels like a lot, take out a piece of paper and start by just trying to write down how you’re feeling. And don’t forget to click here to make sure we can stay in touch!
