Don't Let Your Alcohol Addiction Become Your Kid's Problem

By Leslie Davis

Alcohol addiction comes with a long list of risks, including brain damage, liver damage and severe depression. And no matter how much you think your alcohol addiction is only harming yourself, there are other people who are directly affected by your addiction.

Alcoholism can cause marital problems, difficulties parenting, issues at work and strained relationships with friends. But, even more importantly, your alcohol addiction can increase the chances that your children will need to deal with their own addiction to alcohol as adults.

Children of alcoholics (COAs) are between four and 10 times more likely to become alcoholics themselves than children who have no close relatives with alcoholism, according to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. They are also more likely to begin drinking at a young age and develop drinking problems more quickly.

In addition to a heightened risk of alcohol addiction, COAs often deal with a number of other problems when they have an alcoholic parent:

  • Abuse or neglect
  • Domestic violence
  • Compulsive disorders
  • Behavioral problems
  • Higher risk of accidents and injuries
  • Academic failure
  • Depression and anxiety
  • An increased risk of drug use
  • Physical symptoms of stress, such as headaches and gastrointestinal issues

Children of alcoholics often learn to live with a parent who is unpredictable and inconsistent, and who leaves them feeling confused, insecure and angry. They may also feel as though they are to blame for their parent's drinking and attempt to control or withdraw from the situation in order to make it more tolerable.

About 11 percent of children live with at least one parent who needs treatment for a drug or alcohol addiction, according to the U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. One in four children under the age of 18 lives in a home where they have to deal with alcohol abuse or alcoholism on a daily basis.

Don't let one of those kids be yours. By leaving your alcohol addiction untreated, you are leaving open the possibility of your children battling the same addiction and passing it down to their own kids.

Seeking Treatment for Alcohol Addiction

It's not easy admitting that you have an alcohol addiction, or that your behaviors may be having a negative impact on the people you care most about. But once you've come to the realization that you need to beat your addiction for your kids as much as for yourself, it may be easier for you to seek treatment.

Not all types of alcohol treatment will work for everyone, and you will need to find the one that works best for you. The following are the main types of treatment available for alcohol addiction:

  • Outpatient treatment. Outpatient treatment allows you to live at home while receiving individual, group or family counseling through a mental health professional or clinic that specializes in addiction.
  • Residential treatment centers. Residential treatment centers that treat alcohol addiction provide individual therapy, group therapy and experiential therapy. This type of treatment requires you to live at the residential treatment center for anywhere from three weeks to 12 months, or longer, and includes continuing care to lessen the chance of relapse. Family therapy is generally an important component of treatment at a residential treatment center.
  • Support groups. Support groups allow you to get guidance and encouragement from other people struggling with alcoholism, learn from the experience of others and share useful strategies for beating addiction. Finding a support group near you can be as easy as doing a search online.
  • Online support. Online addiction treatment, through such services as eGetGoing (one of the first and only accredited online recovery programs), allow you to receive anonymous support in your own home. If you opt for this method of treatment, make sure the program is accredited and the support groups led by certified counselors.

No matter what type of addiction treatment you select, it will be important to involve your family and your children in your recovery. Be sure to select a program that includes family therapy, either through regular sessions or weekend seminars. It will be important for you to learn how to parent without the presence of alcohol and for your children to learn to trust and rely on you.

If your kids have developed substance abuse issues of their own or their behavioral issues have become extreme, you may want to have them enter treatment as well. A residential treatment center for adolescents, private boarding school or wilderness program for troubled teens can help your children address any issues they have as a COA, and their behavioral or substance abuse issues. Through therapy and a supportive environment, they will learn healthy ways to cope that don't include the use of alcohol, lessening the risk that they will have to deal with an alcohol addiction as they get older.

It is natural to feel guilty about how your alcohol addiction affects your children. But alcoholism is a treatable disorder, and you can learn to create a healthy environment for your kids that allows them to grow up in a home without alcohol abuse.


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