by Allen Cardoza
Dr. Robert Ackerman, a sociology professor, was recently interviewed about Children of Alcoholics. The interview was conducted on LA Talk Radio by Allen Cardoza and Dr. Melody Foxx. Dr. Robert Ackerman is the director of the Mid-Atlantic Addiction Research and Training Institute (MARTI) at Indiana University of Pennsylvania. He is also the co-founder of the National Association for Children of Alcoholics (NACoA).
Dr. Ackerman commented on how the National Association for Children of Alcoholics was committed on a local and national level to raise awareness about the psychological suffering of the Children of Alcoholics.
How An Alcoholic Parent Affects The Entire Family
Parents who abuse alcohol on a routine basis drastically affect their children’s lives, even after these children have grown up and left the family home. Often these children suffer a variety of symptoms, including ill health, psychological problems, learning disabilities, and behavioral anomalies. In fact, they may even resort to drinking as well as a way to flee their problems.
Fortunately, awareness brings change, which is the mission of the National Association for Children of Alcoholics. By identifying dysfunctional habits that arose as coping strategies in their family of origin, children of alcoholics can heal their suppressed negative emotions through therapy and find new ways of integrating into healthier, more meaningful lives.
How Children of Alcoholics Manage Adult Life
Since children of alcoholics don’t have a clear idea about normal behavior, they develop many types of coping behaviors to make sense of their personal and social reality.
Here are 10 characteristics of children of alcoholics:
1. They constantly seek approval and affirmations from other people to get a sense of self-worth.
2. They work twice as hard as normal people on everything that they do.
3. They are afraid of criticism because criticism in childhood was often associated with physical or verbal abuse.
4. They overextend themselves. They work harder than is necessary. They achieve any desired outcome through lots of effort.
5. Their compulsive behavior often creates problems.
6. They have an overwhelming need to be perfectionists.
7. They are ill-at-ease when life is going smoothly. They love anticipating problems and even create them to dispel their discomfort.
8. They are addicted to creating a crisis. Sometimes they do dangerous and irresponsible things to avoid monotony.
9. They are co-dependent. They treat others the way they treated their alcoholic parent.
10. They are excellent caretakers but at the same time are self-negligent.
Learn more about Children of Alcoholics. Stop by Allen Cardoza’s site where you can find out all about keyword #2 and what it can do for you.
