Trauma is not merely an event that fades with time; it etches itself into the very fabric of our being, demanding acknowledgment and resolution. Though my experience happened in 2017, it took me four years to give the pain the acceptance and acknowledgment it needed. I got a text from someone wishing me "Happy Mother's Day," and it broke me four years later. It was at that point that I realized that our body keeps the score of every experience we go through.

Kirsten Rabuck collaborates with me as a co-author for this issue. She is a substance abuse counselor and an adult child of an alcoholic father, just like me. Together, we draw on our experiences as adult children to help others facing similar challenges.

Pain is inevitable; suffering is optional. Pain is a natural part of life, but it does not have to rule it. Our thoughts and perceptions about pain cause suffering. People needlessly suffer for many years with substance abuse addiction. Unfortunate events, problems, and disappointments are the first arrows that cause pain. The second arrow may be self-deprecating thoughts, self-blame, or getting down on yourself. The key is not to grab a substance, alcohol, or drugs to heal t

Did my Depression isolate me, or did my unrealized Autism isolate me and lead to worsening Depression?

War zones might be closer than you realize, with 25% of children growing up with a father, mother, or both who have a substance use disorder

Childhood trauma plays a significant role in the onset of adult-child syndrome. Such chronic trauma often leads to PTSD.

Transformation allows people with adult-child syndrome (ACS) to take control of their lives and continue living a life of change.

“Adult children of alcoholics” (ACOA) and “adult children of narcissists” (ACON) share a bond of growing up in dysfunctional families.

Get professional help with addiction withdrawal and detox.  Inpatient and outpatient treatment programs can address all types of substance

Survival strategies for children of alcoholics often live on as adults.  , These survival strategies need to be unlearned and discarded.

By Tom O’Connor and Lauren Grawert, MD, FASAM, Co-Authors Is there a recovery from Adult-Child Syndrome? Is there partial recovery?

Mental illness symptoms, such as the Adult Children of Alcoholics, can affect emotions, thoughts, and behaviors. Mental illnesses are nothin