The Many Faces of Addiction

Wow, this article was from February of this year and no comments. As an ACA I have seen the program of AcOA decline and come back up and decline and come back again. I still see the need within myself to work on the ACA issues I still face after 20 years in program. It is so easy to relapse as society is so lax about this issue. This is still huge. Ms. Black is a life send and I appreciate this article. I have children both older and younger and the mistakes I have made and the changes I have made due to awareness and meetings has been profound. Without the knowledge and the experience of working to find "normal" I wouldnt be alive today. Thnaks.

I truly appreciate this article because it is good to know that I am not alone. Everyday I constantly struggle with my addicted parent and it breaks my heart to know that they are not who I am able to look up to as a role model. The addiction seems to take total control of the family and it hurts because no one seems to step up and say anything about it. Its frustrating to see that everyone just continues on with their lives, knowing deep down inside that they feel just as furious as I do. Amazingly, I did not fall into the "black hole" of my parent's addiction. I am currently a successful high school senior that maintains honor roll, with plans on becoming a great chef. I will never let this addiction get in the way of my success, but sometimes it is a bit difficult to know that my foundation is not stable. That is why I continue to fall back and try to control a situation that is extremely out of my reach. It scares me to know that my foundation can quickly fall. Am I truly ready to leave the nest and fly?

no one is alone in this -- unfortunately.