Finding Support

If you've been reading this blog, my hope is that you realize you are not alone in dealing with an alcoholic parent, friend, or family member.  If you have had to deal with alcoholism affecting your childhood, I urge you to seek support and help.  You don't have to deal with this on your own, there are other people out there who know and understand exactly what you've been through and have to deal with a lot of the same repercussions and issues stemming from those childhood traumas.

If you are a teen or adult and you would like to seek support in coping with the alcoholic in your life, you can find help with the organization Al-Anon.  They offer support for families, children and teenagers in a variety of ways.  Know that you are not alone, it is not your fault, and there are other people who have been there and are willing to walk beside you through it.

The Effects of Alcohol Abuse

Long term alcohol abuse can lead to many health problems that affect quality of life.  According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, some of the long-term health risks associated with alcoholism are:

• Neurological problems like dementia, stroke, and neuropathy
• Cardiovascular problems
• Psychiatric problems including depression, anxiety, and suicide
• Social problems like unemployment and family problems
• Cancer of the mouth, throat, esophagus, liver, colon, and breast
• Liver disease such as alcoholic hepatitis and cirrhosis
• Pancreatitis and gastritis

Alcoholism attacks the brain as shown below.

The picture below from the UNC School of Medicine shows scans of how the brain is altered by alcohol.

The brain is probably the most important organ in your body, but alcohol doesn't only destroy the brain, it can destroy your entire body.  

There are not many benefits to alcohol consumption, and there is a long list of risks associated with alcohol use or abuse.  Overall, I'd say the risks far outweigh the benefits.

Myths Believed by Children of Alcoholics

If you are the child (or adult child) of an alcoholic, it is likely that at some point you have believed some or all of the following myths:

I am the reason that my mom/dad drinks and it's my fault they are an alcoholic.

It is my job to fix my alcoholic parent.

If I did something differently, then he/she wouldn't drink. 

My parent doesn't love me, if he/she loved me then he/she wouldn't drink.  I must be unlovable.  

These statements are untrue and sadly believed by the majority of children of alcoholics.  If you are one of those people, please know that these things are not true.  There is nothing the child of an alcoholic can do to keep their parent from drinking.