'It Will Never Happen to Me!' Children of Alcoholics: As Youngsters - Adolescents - Adults
One of the gifts of what we have come to learn about people raised in chemically dependent families is that it has offered extremely useful information for people raised in other types of troubled families as well. Whether or not you were raised in an addictive family system, It Will Never Happen To Me may very well offer a framework to understand your situation. We have long recognized that people raised with physical and sexual aabuse strongly identify as if they were raised with addiction. People raised with mental illness, ranging from schizophrenia to depression, to raging parents, frequently identify with adult child issues. People raised with parents afected by chronic health issues, physical challenges, as well as those raised by an adult child (an adult child who may not manifest an addiction, but the thinking and behavior is often characteristic of an addict) may also identify. The connecting thread between these different types of families is experienc! ing chronic loss that fuels emotional isolation, rigidity, or shame.Whatever the circumstances, when you come from a history of loss, it is like being a first cousin to the person raised with addiction. Therefore, if this information can benefit others raised in troubled families, this is an added gift.--This text refers to thePaperbackedition.