One of the best things my therapist did for me those many years ago, was help me recognize that the way my mind worked served me well during childhood, but as an adult, it would only limit me and keep me on a path to failure. She then began the process of helping me learn…
This is something we don’t take seriously enough. We seem to do the opposite, admiring the parents who are overstressed, overworked, over-everything, instead of the ones who take care of themselves. All this month in our HRI blogs, we’re looking at protective factors against child abuse. At first glance, it may seem counter-intuitive that self-care…
Feeling out of control is scary for most people, but even more so for adult children of alcoholics (ACOAs). Living with an alcoholic or addict is scary and unpredictable, especially when you’re a child. Trying to control people and situations is a coping strategy that children of alcoholics develop to deal with chaotic and…
I would say the same thing about mental health, and child abuse survivors. It may not be easy to talk about, but until it is normal to do so, there will always be stigma around it. We talked and talked. Part of me silently whined and resented the conversation but a much bigger part of…
I think this pretty well describes it for me, but I also know the effects it had on me are different than they may be for other children of alcoholics. I see different effects within my own family even. I was the kid who felt the need to keep everything working. I didn’t like the…
Honestly, I’m torn on this subject and not sure what the correct approach is. As someone who connects with people as part of my professional networking through social media and my own blogs, I completely understand the goal of using it to make yourself look good. On the other, as a childhood abuse survivor and…
