ACOA Characteristics

ACOAs...

1.) ...guess at what normal behavior is.
2.) ...have difficulty following a project through from beginning to end.
3.) ...lie when it would be just as easy to tell the truth.
4.) ...judge themselves without mercy.
5.) ...have difficulty having fun.
6.) ...take themselves very seriously.
7.) ...have difficulty with intimate relationships.
8.) ...overreact to changes over which they have no control.
9.) ...constantly seek approval and affirmation.
10.) ...usually feel that they are different from other people.
11.) ...are super responsible or super irresponsible.
12.) ...are extremely loyal, even in the face of evidence that the loyalty is undeserved.
13.) ...are impulsive and tend to lock themselves into a course of action without giving serious behaviors or possible consequences. This impulsiveness leads to confusion, self-loathing and loss of control over their environment. In addition, they spend and excessive amount of energy cleaning up the mess.

Tuesday, October 30, 2007

You are not Alone

It's been about a month since I first learned about blogging more in-depth. Funny how findings from an Internet Marketing class turn into therapeutic practices.

Learning about blogging came at the perfect time when that which unknowingly controls my life more than I ever thought decided to step in some more to complicate the best thing going for me.

I am an ACOA--Adult Child of an Alcoholic. Two alcoholics, actually. Though I thought moving away from the situation when I was seventeen and making a completely different life for myself would help, I realized that what shapes you stays with you...more than you'd like it to.

I'm still doing pretty well with myself, considering where I came from. I'm a senior in college, I have no apparent addictions of my own, I take pride in a wonderful man who loves me, and am keeping myself very busy with various jobs and activities in order to afford to stay in school and secure a nice job upon graduation.

Only, that time is drawing much closer than I realized, and while I live a reflective life on a day-to-day basis, the close of graduation has caused me to do a lot more questioning, searching, and reflecting. And, of course, this has only led to more questioning, searching, and reflecting.

But in this journey, I realized that I am not alone. I realize there are very few like me, but not no one. Someone is out there struggling with similar issues. I know you are, or else there wouldn't be so many books about us. Us ACOAs.

I hope that this might be a place where you can escape from the struggles of your life, find comfort in the empathy of another, and peace that God leaves us hints for our life...we just sometimes have to look for them a little harder than other things in the world...

I don't intend to make this a journal...that's not the purpose of a blog. However, I might need to start with something similar to that before I learn how to target topics and find a steady posting schedule. I'm hoping I will post on Sunday nights so that I can offer a reflection on the previous week and hope for the next one. If you would like me to comment on anything in particular, feel free to comment and make a request.

Good luck, be strong, have Faith.