National Association for Children of Alcoholics (NACoA). The people hurt most by drugs and alcohol don’t even use them; they are the CHILDREN of alcoholics and other drug dependent parents. Our mission is to eliminate the adverse impact of alcohol and drug use on children and families. Click here to learn more.

Adult Children of Alcoholics World Service Organization. The term “adult child” is used to describe adults who grew up in alcoholic or dysfunctional homes and who exhibit identifiable traits that reveal past abuse or neglect. http://www.adultchildren.org/

The Laundry List – 14 Traits of an Adult Child of an Alcoholic & The Flip Side of The Laundry List – https://adultchildren.org/literature/laundry-list/

Psychology Today – finding a therapist or treatment center in your area, click here.

Pandora’s Project is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to providing information, support, and resources to survivors of rape and sexual abuse and their friends and family. We have been devoted to recovery and healing since 1999. Resources for help.

One Choice Can Destroy: Overtaken – Jarrod’s Light. Positive, real, videos your child(ren) can relate to.
Jodi Barber, a co-founder, has bravely, unselfishly made her family’s unbearable tragic loss of their son Jarrod into a mission to save other families and addicts from the horrors of addiction. She works tirelessly to educate families, works with schools, rehab facilities, state and local lawmakers to make a difference. Jodi Barber started by speaking out to groups of kids. She found her first audiences at funerals. Jodi shares Jarrod’s story whenever and wherever she can. Jarrod is proof once again, that an overdose can happen to anyone. It knows no boundaries. She gets phone calls from terrified parents at all hours of the day and night to find their child and bring them to rehab. Calls from kids who have gone through rehab only to relapse. To beg for scholarships so the uninsured might receive the help they need. She is a warrior. And, a hero.

Treatment4addiction.com – Online Recovery Resource Directory. Asking for help when it comes to addiction or mental health issues is never an easy task, nor is navigating the realm of treatment options. Treatment4Addiction.com (T4A) can be your guide assisting in the sometimes complicated mission of seeking out help for you or someone who you love currently struggling with substance abuse or serious to moderate psychological conditions. Click here to find resources for treatment.

Addiction Center was founded by recovering addicts and health information writers. Our goal is to provide the most up-to-date information on addiction as well as reviews of top treatment centers across the country. Click here to go to their site.

Mrs. Mindfulness –  Discover The Art Of Mindful Living, click here. Her mission is to help you enjoy a more conscious and connected life. Wholeness, deep peace and joy are available to anyone who taps into the stillness and silence that dwell within them.

I can’t say enough about Oprah. A great way to de-stress and be enlightened is to begin your week with – Super Soul Sunday . If you don’t get Own TV, you can watch a some full episodes online.

Also, please try out Oprah and Deepak’s 21-Day Meditation Experience, when they have it. It’s free, sign up here.

I also truly believe in taking care of yourself. Your wellness “gets well” by your health (emotionally, mentally, physically). Try to do some kind of fitness and keep active as much as you can. The treadmill have always been my way of releasing stress, clearing my mind, and eventually making me feel better because I feel fit. But, with being active, also please rest. Get enough sleep. Take long, warm, baths or showers and just do nothing sometimes. Diet is important. All in moderation because we all deserve treats! Lastly, do what you love. Remember what you used to love doing as a child – drawing, riding your bike, swimming, arts and crafts, skateboarding. What it was, do it! Just enjoy yourself! You deserve to live the life you were meant to live.

FACTS & INFORMATION
Great videos to understand about children living in an alcoholic home: 

 

CHILDREN OF ALCOHOLICS
The problems that plague many children of alcoholics remain invisible because their coping behavior tends to be approval seeking and socially acceptable. However, a disproportionate number of those entering the juvenile justice system, courts, prison, and mental health facilities, and those referred to school authorities are CoA’s.

▼ As a Matter of Fact
• An estimated 28 million Americans have at least one alcoholic parent.
• Approximately one-half of all alcoholics have an alcoholic parent.
• One of three families currently reports alcohol abuse by a family member.
• Children of alcoholic parents demonstrate an unusually high risk of becoming alcoholic themselves or of marrying someone who is or who will become an alcoholic.
• In up to 90 percent of child abuse cases, alcohol is a significant factor.
• Children of alcoholics (CoA’s) are frequently the victims of incest, child neglect, and other forms of violence and exploitation.
• CoA’s often adapt to the chaos and inconsistency of an alcoholic home by developing an inability to trust, an extreme need to control, excessive sense of responsibility, and denial of feelings –– all of which result in low self-esteem, depression, isolation, guilt, and difficulty maintaining satisfying relationships. These and other problems persist or exacerbate throughout adulthood.
• Children of alcoholics are apt to experience a range of psychological difficulties, including learning disabilities, anxieties, attempted/completed suicides, eating disorders, or compulsive achieving/failing.

▼ Adult Children of Alcoholics (ACoA’s):
• Guess at what normal is.
• Become isolated and afraid of other people, especially authority figures.
• Tend to judge themselves harshly and consequently suffer feelings of low self-worth.
• Have difficulty acting; they more often react to others.
• Often are dependent and fear abandonment.
• Become alcoholic, marry alcoholics, or do both — or they tend to find some other compulsion, such as work, eating, gambling.
• Frequently become “addicted” to excitement after having lived for many year in a traumatic and sometimes dangerous family soap opera.
• Tend to confuse love with pity, and often “love” those whom they can rescue or pity.
• Feel responsible for their unstable families and have difficulty living independently.
• Frequently suffer guilt feelings if they consider their needs rather than the needs of others.
• Become approval-seekers, losing their identity in the process.
• Tend to deny or repress the feelings of their traumatized childhood — which separates them from all feelings, making it difficult or impossible to recognize/accept adults.
• Are sometimes unable to separate truth from fiction in their lives.