Jennifer's Story: I am the Child of an Alcoholic...It Runs in My Family

TRIGGER WARNING: Alcoholism and Death

• 1 in 5 people in the UK are affected by a parents drinking (Nacoa Study)
• Over 600,000 people in the UK are currently alcohol dependent. Of these, only 18% are receiving treatment
• Alcohol abuse is the biggest risk factor for DEATH, ill health and disease and disability among 14 to 49 year olds in the UK

In 2020, there were almost 1 million alcohol related hospital admissions in England; putting a heavy strain on the NHS. Alcohol abuse and consumption costs the NHS an estimated £3.5 billion per year in England and costs an estimated £2.1 billion per year to society as a whole.

Millions of children grow up in households where one or both parents struggle with alcohol addition. Often times, the addiction goes hand-in-hand with domestic abuse and child abuse/neglect. This is an ugly reality that so many people want to ignore or excuse away. Many parents carry shame or guilt around their addiction, never facing it head on or fail to see it as dysfunctional, as it's generational trauma passed on. The long term ramifications and impact of alcohol abuse on the family and on society can be catastrophic, and is destroying the childhoods and healthy development of too many kids.

Joining host Jennie on today's episode is Jennifer Payne. She is a NACOA Ambassador (National Association for Children of Alcoholics) and the child of an Alcoholic. Jennifer speaks candidly about how her mothers alcoholism consumed her childhood and still affects her life to this day, as well as discusses the complexities around what happens to the mother-daughter relationship when the mother is an alcoholic, and how that can present. Alcoholism caused the deaths of several people in Jennifer's family and she addresses the realities of generational alcoholism and trauma.

Many carry shame, guilt and embarrassment around having an alcoholic parent or BEING an alcoholic parent. In sharing her story and being so raw, Jennifer allows others to feel seen and heard. With so many people sharing the same or similar experience with alcoholism, no one needs to feel alone. There is help and support and more importantly, community, through organisations like NACOA.

You can find Jennifer here:

Instagram: @jen_payne_88

You can find NACOA (National Association for Children of Alcoholics):

Instagram: @nacoauk

Website: Nacoa: Helping everyone affected by their parent's drinking - Nacoa

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