traits Archives - Adult Children of Alcoholics & Dysfunctional Families

Character Traits

by Lori N. | Nov 15, 2023 | ComLine, Voices of Recovery

I will give you a brief summary of what led me to ACA. I was exposed to a lot of trauma and abuse most of my life. I have had 9 qualifiers. I was married to a problem drinker for 36 years. He would binge drink to blackout. He was a...

Letting Go

by Jon F. | May 1, 2023 | ComLine, Voices of Recovery

As an ACA, letting go of anything always felt like jumping from an airplane without a parachute. I held on for dear life and didn't let go of anything. It’s how I ran my business, it’s how I was in charge of my family, and it’s how I held on to my traumatizing...

The ACA “Laundry List” Describes Compliant Adult Children, Not Exiles Or Rebels

by Kathleen S. | Oct 15, 2022 | ComLine, Voices of Recovery

Only Trait 4 specifies substance abuse, as a way to cope. Addict/Alcoholic adult children do share the feelings—fears—in the traits, but they acted out as targets of abuse. I believe lumping defiant behaviors into the “Other Laundry List” isn’t satisfactory. All...

I Matter, I’m Whole, And I Am Never Alone

by Mary H. | Jan 24, 2022 | ComLine, Voices of Recovery

Living in the “if onlys” and “someday whens” I was always looking for something, someone, or someplace that would give me peace.Just as my alcoholic father and enabling mother, I was on a deadly continuum. I have primary addictive reactions that get me high or low,...