• They (we) tend to mistrust relationships – from casual to intimate.
• Relationships are about winning or losing, about using or being used.
• Mistrust trust – they (we) are suspicious of you if you trust them and suspicious of you if you don’t.
• They (we) are experts in the “double bind” meaning that no matter which option you choose, it is the “wrong” option.
• They (we) are constantly on duty and have little or no conception of what it means to let go, to relax, and to live with some abandon.
• They (we) assume there’s always a hidden agenda.
• They (we) misread authentic innocence and regard it as a cover designed to pull them in.

To succeed in a casual or intimate relationship with an adult child of an alcoholic persistence and patience are essential. They are likely to test the validity of the relationship time and time again. They are going to put roadblocks in the way and will sabotage any meaningful connection to test if it is real.

In the extreme adult children of alcoholics replicate the chaos of their childhoods in order to replicate the discomfort and the mistrust that was their normal.

Please use this column wisely – it is not intended as a means of judging or hurting anyone.

Posted on April 24, 2017 at 9:27 am in Addictions, Betrayal, Blended families, Boundaries, Differentiation, Difficult Relationships, Divorce   |  RSS feed |   Reply   |   Trackback URL