Did you know?
• When addiction is present, families can be very traumatizing.
• Broad swings, from one end of the emotional, psychological and behavioral spectrum to the other, all too often characterize the addicted family system
• What is being said often doesn’t match up with what family members sense or feel beneath the surface or see right in front of their eyes
• The drug/alcohol user as well as family members may bend, manipulate and deny reality in their attempt to maintain a family order that they experience as gradually slipping away
• Children and adults in this family may lose their sense of whom and what they can depend upon
• Because the disease is progressive, family members seamlessly slip into patterns of relating that become increasingly more dysfunctional
• Children are often left to fend for themselves and anyone bold enough to confront the obvious disease may be branded as a family traitor
• Family members may withdraw into their own private worlds or compete for the little love and attention that is available
References
http://www.celebratingfamilies.net/PDF/TianDayton_article.pdf
