Being an Adult Child of an Alcoholic & Emotional Immaturity

This week's episode is the first dive into Molly's life as an adult child of an alcoholic. She shares information she learned while researching the Breaking the Bottle Legacy book. Her research included conversations with other adult children of alcoholics and the NY Times bestseller, Adult Children of Alcoholics

From the book, Molly shares some of the thirteen characteristics outlined by Dr. Woititz that have been most prevalaent in her own life. She also shares information from Dr. Woititz regarding characteristics of alcoholics that are oftened taught to children and become learned behaviors for adult children of alcoholics.

One of the common causes for addiction is emotional immaturity and Molly dives deeper into how this was modeled for her by her own mother and lead to her own dysfunctional habit with alcohol.

Becoming aware of the where of the characteristics of emotional immaturity can help you uncover your own thinking fueling habits that don't serve you. Understanding the past allows you to hold it in a different way now and it only exists in how you think about it today.

From Adult Children of Alcoholics, Janet Woititz, 1983, 1990.

1. Adult children of alcoholics guess at what normal behavior is.
2. Adult children of alcoholics have difficulty following a project through from beginning to end. 3. Adult children of alcoholics lie when it would be just as easy to tell the truth.
3. Adult children of alcoholics judge themselves without mercy.
4. Adult children of alcoholics have difficulty having fun.
5. Adult children of alcoholics take themselves very seriously.
6. Adult children of alcoholics have difficulty with intimate relationships.
7. Adult children of alcoholics over-react to changes over which they have no control.
8. Adult children of alcoholics constantly seek approval and affirmation.
9. Adult children of alcoholics usually feel that they are different from other people.
10. Adult children of alcoholics are super responsible or super irresponsible.
11. Adult children of alcoholics are extremely loyal, even in the face of evidence that the loyalty is undeserved.

13. Adult children of alcoholics are impulsive. They tend to lock themselves into a course of action without giving serious consideration to alternative behaviors or possible consequences. This impulsivity leads to confusion, self-loathing and loss of control over their environment. In addition, they spend an excessive amount of energy cleaning up the mess.

Characteristics of Alcoholics from "Adult Children of Alcoholics" and "Love on the Rocks" , Janet Woititz

• excessive dependency
• inability to express emotions
• low frustration tolerance
• emotional immaturity
• high level of anxiety in interpersonal relationships
• low self-esteem
• grandiosity
• feelings of isolation
• perfectionism
• ambivalence toward authority
• guilt

For more information go to https:www.mollywatts.com

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