Adult children of alcoholics Essays - Alcohol Abuse,

Adult children of alcoholics Adult Children that were raised by Alcoholics The population that we are focusing our research on is adult children of alcoholics (ACOAs) age 18 and older over 28.6 million people are ACOAs 22 million are over the age of 18. The reason they are called adult children and not just plan adults is because when a child experiences trauma or anything life changing, that child remains that age in the mind no matter how old they get or how many things they experience. We will be giving an overall list of common characteristics of the adult children of alcoholics then addressing some of the more common traits that can effect a group facilitator or members of the group. The adult children of alcoholics was best described by a book called alcoholism by David L. Bender published in 1994. Adult children of alcoholics was spelled out with each letter representing a trait or characteristic that they possess. A stands for addictive, compulsive behavior to marry addicts. D stands for delusional and denial meaning the ACOAs usually dont want to a dmit having an alcohol problem themselves or even admitting their parent or guardian had a problem. U stands for unmercifully judgmental on self or others. L stands for lack of good boundaries meaning that there really dont know when to stop or to start like all or nothing. T stands for Tolerate Inappropriate behavior meaning that they now deal with certain behavior they never thought they would or behaviors they tried to stay away from. C stands for constantly seeking approval. H stands for having problems with intimate relationships. I stands for incur guilt whenever you stand up for themselves meaning they feel guilty when they speak up. L stands for lies when it is easier to tell the truth. D stands for disabled will meaning you try to control what cant be controlled. R stands for reactive not creative meaning they over react. E stands for extremely loyal to a fault meaning that the ACOAs are really loyal even when situations show you they shouldnt be or the exact opposite of no t being loyal at all. N stands for numbed out meaning you completely deny your feeling and emotions. O stands for overreact to changes you cant control meaning ACOAs love to be in control over every difficult situation. F stands for feel different from other meaning ACOA s usually feel like the outcast bringing up jealousy and envy. A stands for anxious and anxiety meaning ACOAs are always on guard very jumpy and easily startled. L stands for low self-worth and shame leaving the ACOAs feeling like they are less than a normal person always taking up responsibilities like being the hero or the perfect one. C stands for confuse love with pity meaning ACOAs are usually attracted to the weaker people going out their way to help people. O stands for overly serious or the direct opposite meaning they rarely have fun or you have to much fun. H stands for having difficulty finishing things never taking action or finishing important task. O stands for overly dependent meaning ACOAs are very c lingy and afraid of abandonment. L stands for live life as a victim living in a victim role love playing the victim or being around victims. I stands for intimidated by anger and personal criticism meaning they go to great lengths to stop someone from being mad at them. C stands for control madness fear of losing control. S stands for super responsible or the complete opposite. Now that you have an overview of the main characteristics we will now discuss the four main traits that will most likely effect a group or its facilitator. First trait I believe is important to know about when dealing with this population in a group is the anger management issues this can be a real problem for the facilitator because it can lead to a conflict between members. Anger issues come up a lot with ACOAs because its hard for them to accept any type of criticism or feedback, so when this happens they go from 0-100 in an instant. This trait is found in 1 out of every 5