Impact of Alcoholism on the Family Unit

The public is just learning how dangerous heavy drinking is and, simultaneously, putting behind the notion that alcoholic amounts to just odd and strange behavior. Since 1935 the members of Alcoholics Anonymous have been telling society about the seriousness of alcoholism; Al-Anon has made public the news that relatives and friends of drinkers can suffer along with the alcoholic and The Children of Alcoholics (COA) have brought new insight into its effects on the more than twenty-eight million Americas who have seen at least one parent succumb to the disease (Leershsen, 1988, p. 62).

When an individual becomes dependent on alcohol, his/her actions or defenses are troublesome because they invade the autonomy of others, merging boundaries just like infants merge boundaries with their mothers (Maxwell, 1986, p. 70). Alcoholics do not live in isolation. Their lives are intertwined with those of others, all of whom - friends, family members, co-workers, fellow students - are seriously affected by the problems that accompany the addiction. Alcohol abuse disrupts family life and alienates close friends and relatives.

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t family members will play down or minimize the dependant's behavior; they will excuse or rationalize the abuse. Often they will project their feelings onto others by blaming them. As the dependency progresses, they will add other defenses that, in time, will become their main defenses. "Then, like chemically dependent persons, the co-dependents will assume rigid attitudinal postures and behavior, but, rather than becoming tyrants, they become stoics, or escape artists, or the obsessed, or saints" (Meyer, 1984, p. 313; Maxwell, 1986, p. 76). If they stay trapped, many regress further into illness. When there is an alcoholic in the family, children are often the ones closest to him or her, which puts them right in the line of fire for the abnormal behavior when it starts to surface - and in the position to become co-alcoholics without realizing it. Children often grow up carrying lifelong social and psychological scars because most observers believe that it is the children who suffer the most, especially during preadolescence and early adolescence. They are in the position of having no control over the situation. Children of alcoholics are people who've been robbed of their childhood. Nevertheless, they often display a k
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Some common words found in the essay are:
Alcoholics COA, Lost Child, Medicine Brooklyn, Stress We've, , Alcoholics Anonymous, Cited Leerhsen, Geringer Voititz, Family Hero, Books Avrahm, meyer 1984, children alcoholics, leerhsen 1988, maxwell 1986, 1988 68, family unit, alcoholic family, comer 1989, meyer 1984 313, 1989 198, children grow, avraham 1988 68, maxwell 1986 76, comer 1989 198, adult children alcoholics,
Approximate Word count = 2018
Approximate Pages = 8 (250 words per page)

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