“When the family energy is focused on the problem of the adult rather than on the needs of the children, the results for the children are the state of not knowing they come first, the state of believing that they have to fix the situation, and the state of believing that life is about surviving instead of enjoying and that the meaning of life is to get through the struggle of life.”  Cathleen Brooks

Reddick has an ACA subset about being an adult child of dysfunction. Adult Children has the subtitle of “exploring the phenomena of emotional maturity in an unforgiving world”. It lists some traits and positive outcomes from being an adult child.

‘Some traits that Adult Children share are:

• overdeveloped sense of responsibility
• approval seeking
• conflict avoidant
• difficulty with intimacy
• feel fundamentally different from “normal” people
• may have issues with self esteem, shame, boundaries, abandonment, or authority figures”

“Some positive effects of a dysfunctional childhood are:

• highly developed self reliance
• ability to sense the mood of a room or person
• increased empathy and compassion
• awareness of abuse dynamics and tactics”

A

ACA Laundry List

ACOA Chat Schedule

Adult children of alcoholics practice being normal

Adult Children of Alcoholics World Service Organization

B, C, D

E

Emotional Communication Intelligence

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Family roles in addictive family–

Updated Family Roles from ACA

G, H

How to Tame Your “Inner Brat”

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I turned 35 and bought a house

J, K, L

Learning to live in the real world

List of Character Defects for 12 Step Recovery Work

Love Over Fear: Blog for Adult Children of Alcoholics

M, N, O, P, Q, R, S

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That is Not My Job

U, V, W, X, Y, Z

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