It can be scary when someone you care about begins a Twelve Step recovery program. If that someone is an alcoholic who joins Alcoholics Anonymous (AA), you might feel left out, as if the person has joined an exclusive club and you don’t know the secret handshake.
More likely, however, you will feel the sense of [...]
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Margaret is the adult child of negligent, alcoholic parents. Her father is dead now, and her elderly mother is unable to care for herself.
Ron’s alcoholic father abandoned his family 20 years ago. Now he is old and ill and desperately needs someone to help care for him.
Darlene was repeatedly molested by her father when she [...]
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When Helen entered a homeless shelter in Chicago, staff members described her as “depressed, refusing to change her clothes, and flat.” Helen said that she’d been homeless for the last three years. She also said that she’d been hearing strange voices in her head since age 8 and had been diagnosed as a substance abuser. [...]
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If you were asked to name one of life’s greatest joys and challenges, many (maybe even most) of you would answer “children.” The nurturance of children is an awesome responsibility that requires a seemingly bottomless emotional and physical reserve. While parenting is a tough enough job for those who share it, single parenting presents even [...]
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“Some of us have so many voices in our heads, we could hold group therapy by ourselves,” said Rokelle Lerner, a popular speaker and trainer on relationships, women’s issues, and addicted family systems.
This internal chorus is often composed of voices from our family of origin, voices of critical teachers or bosses, voices from past relationships [...]
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R.J. has been clean and sober and an active member of Alcoholics Anonymous for 20 years. He lives the Twelve Step program each day, one day at a time. He attends AA meetings faithfully, reads the literature, meditates, and asks his Higher Power for guidance. He has told his story many times and listened with [...]
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Parents who want to prevent their children from drinking might well ask the question: “So many of their friends are using alcohol. Will what I say to them make a difference?”
The answer is yes. Research indicates that little or no use of alcohol is strongly associated with young people who perceive that their parents will [...]
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Faced with a grandparent or older parent who abuses alcohol or other drugs, you can easily feel defeated. “Dad’s been drinking all his life,” you might conclude. “He’s just too old to change. At his age, what difference does it make.”
Think again. Research indicates that older adults who enter treatment for alcohol or other drug [...]
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When people talk about an older adult who abuses or misuses alcohol or other drugs, we’re likely to hear comments such as these:
This woman lost her husband and her house and now she’s headed to a home for older people. She’s lonely, and drinking is the one joy she has in life. Why take it [...]
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Adults who grew up with alcoholic parents probably have plenty to be mad about. As children, they were virtually powerless to stop the forms of abuse and neglect they often suffered. They couldn’t express their anger or outrage in a healthy manner. Instead, many either acted out their anger by getting into trouble or reacted [...]
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