Author: John Carter

6 Ways Adult Children of Alcoholics Struggle Later in Life

There’s a genetic component, and growing up in a household with an alcoholic puts you at risk for many issues. But that doesn’t mean children of alcoholics are sentenced to the same disorder as their parents. Having a parent with alcohol use disorder as a child can have negative effects, such as your own issues with alcohol as an adult — but that’s not always the case. A parent’s alcohol use disorder (AUD) can have a major impact on your mental and emotional well-being — not just in your childhood, but also well into your adulthood.

1. It’s incredibly hard for them to accept approval from themselves without remembering how others said they were flawed in childhood.
2. Experiencing these behaviors from a parent can also wear down your self-worth over time.
3. According to White, this may happen partly because children often learn to mirror the characteristics of their parents.
4. “In this process, you’ll process unresolved traumatic experiences and develop tools to formulate healthy relationships and communicate your needs,” she explains.
5. You’re not to blame if you learned to use alcohol as a means of dealing with trauma from your childhood, but you can always take action to learn new, more helpful coping mechanisms.
6. Aron Janssen, MD is board certified in child, adolescent, and adult psychiatry and is the vice chair of child and adolescent psychiatry Northwestern University.

Although he can express happiness, when something bad happens, he doesn’t seem to react. Aron Janssen, MD is board certified in child, adolescent, and adult psychiatry and is the vice chair of child and adolescent psychiatry Northwestern University. Alcoholism is called a family disorder because it affects everyone who cares about the addicted person.

They can recommend strategies to help you cope with emotional challenges and build healthier relationships. AUD is a mental health condition that can prove very difficult to manage and overcome. In addition to the higher rate of selecting an alcoholic partner, ACOAs are also more likely to experience the symptoms of trauma. These factors include the feeling of being unable to escape from the pain, being at risk in the family, and being frightened in a place that should be safe. Unfortunately, some adults become numb after suffering a childhood with alcoholic parents. If a child’s parent was mean or abusive when they were drunk, adult children can grow up with a fear of all angry people.

The truth is, over 6 million children grow up with one or both parents stricken by alcoholism. In 1970, ALCOA (adult children of alcoholics) was formed, which helped people cope with their traumatic childhoods. Adult children of alcoholics struggled in many areas and needed all the support they could get. Research suggests that about one in 10 children lives with a parent who has an alcohol use disorder, and about one in 5 adults lived with a person who used alcohol when they were growing up.

How a Parent’s Alcohol Use Disorder Can Affect You as an Adult

Never entirely sure how they’d act or react, you might have found yourself constantly on high alert, ready to respond accordingly and protect yourself. These feelings can affect your personal sense of self-esteem and self-worth. Even those with a higher genetic risk for AUD can often take a harm reduction approach when they learn to better understand their triggers, risk factors, and engagement with substances, Peifer says. My son goes through things now as an adult, some good and some bad, and I see the influence of his father’s drinking.

You’re not to blame if you learned to use alcohol as a means of dealing with trauma from your childhood, but you can always take action to learn new, more helpful coping mechanisms. This state of hypervigilance is a common symptom of both post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and anxiety disorders. All of these behaviors can make it more difficult to form healthy, satisfying relationships.

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. A 2014 review found that children of parents who misuse alcohol often have trouble developing emotional regulation abilities. The statistics provided by multiple sources further break this down to about 76 million adults in the country who have lived or are currently living with a family history of alcoholism. Adult children of alcoholic parents may shy away from social events or other entertainment because they feel it is “silly” and may lead to bad decisions. They have taken the horror of their childhood and built walls to keep the “bad things” out.

Growing up in an alcoholic household predisposes the children to maladaptive behaviors. Children who grow up with at least one parent with alcohol use disorder can have an increased chance of experiencing negative health and behavioral outcomes. Couples therapy can also have benefit, according to White, if you believe behaviors rooted in your childhood experiences have started to affect your romantic relationship. When you grow up in a home with one or more alcoholic parents, the impact of the dysfunction reverberates throughout your life.

How does alcohol use affect children?

It’s a good thing to be responsible, but it’s also a bad thing to be too serious all the time. Children of parents who misuse alcohol are at higher risk for anxiety, depression, and unexplained physical symptoms (internalizing behaviors). They are also more likely to display rule-breaking, aggressiveness, and impulsivity (externalizing behaviors) in childhood. These effects can last long into adulthood and make it difficult for adult children to have healthy relationships. A mental health professional can help you work through your past traumas and experiences and address how these have affected you as an adult.

Because he is a member of a support group that stresses the importance of anonymity at the public level, he does not use his photograph or his real name on this website. Moreover, you shouldn’t use NyQuil as a sleep aid or for long-term treatment of symptoms. If you take more than the recommended dose, you may experience withdrawal symptoms.

How Children Are Affected By Parents With Alcohol Use Disorder

Mixing NyQuil and alcohol is dangerous and can have serious consequences. It increases the chance of an overdose, liver damage, impaired immune system, and addiction. If this was the case with your parent, you may have learned to pay attention to small, subtle signs at a young age.

But exposure to AUD during childhood is a good reason to reach out to health experts and get the support needed to reduce the risk. You can talk with a healthcare professional if you’re unsure where to start. 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. A trained mental health professional can offer more support with identifying unhelpful habits and coping mechanisms and exploring alternatives that better serve you. “In this process, you’ll process unresolved traumatic experiences and develop tools to formulate healthy relationships and communicate your needs,” she explains.

They’ll see other options and learn that it is possible to experience healthy, positive emotions. One of the most common issues reported was a lack of trust in adults (more than 1 in 5). In 2019, around 14.5 million people ages 12 and older in the United States were living with this condition, according to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA). When you don’t learn how to regulate your emotions, you might find it more difficult to understand what you’re feeling and why, not to mention maintain control over your responses and reactions.

Parents with an AUD may have difficulty providing children with a safe, loving environment, which can lead to long-term emotional and behavioral consequences. In a study of more than 25,000 adults, those who had a parent with AUD remembered their childhoods as “difficult” and said they struggled with “bad memories” of their parent’s alcohol misuse. Some people experience this as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), like other people who had different traumatic childhood experiences. 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. Experts highly recommend working with a therapist, particularly one who specializes in trauma or substance use disorders.