Things got really bad when I was 14. My parents had always been drinkers, but my mums drinking started getting out of control. She would turn violent, her anger and bitterness directed at my dad, my little sister and me. The police would be called at least once a week. She stopped taking my sister…
Tag: alcoholism
What would I advise the younger me?
I have thought about this many times and it’s difficult to know what I would advise the younger me because the younger me was so headstrong and idealistic that they probably wouldn’t have listened anyway. I have read other peoples’ shared experiences and they’ve made me feel grateful because I had a fantastic childhood…
Dads alcoholism killed him, and made me hate myself!
My dad was intelligent, charismatic and had piercing blue eyes that always seemed to have a twinkle in them. He was a member of the TA and a Regimental Sergeant Major in the Army Cadets. Last year I chatted to a friend who had been one of his cadets and he gleefully told me that…
Breaking free!
I grew up in a home (if you would even call it that) where both parents where alcoholics. When I look back on it now, it seems like a never-ending day of violence, trauma and neglect. I somehow had an instinctual sense, I think from the day I was born that this was all wrong….
A waste of life that could have been so much more.
Today’s powerful guest blog comes from Alexandra Pilson. Miserable, I was constantly sad, frustrated, and lonely. I felt alienated from others as no one would have believed me. My father was seen as a pillar of the community and such a wonderful man. I carried far too much responsibility and an enormously heavy burden. My…
Turn Loneliness into Learning
For those that have experienced loneliness you will know how upsetting it can be. I have had periods of loneliness throughout my life and thankfully now I experience this very rarely. My home was often full of people, if it wasn’t the family it was foreign students or friends of my mums so generally a…
Alcoholism stole my Hero!
This weeks hugely relatable guest post comes from Rowan Parry. My life was spent walking out of the school gates, dying of embarrassment, hoping he wouldn’t be there and hoping he wouldn’t embarrass me again. The ‘he’ I make reference to was my Dad. For the early stages of my life he was my…
Want to tell your story as the child of an alcoholic?
I cannot begin to tell you the positive affect that writing a blog has had on me. I have only been doing it for a short amount of time, but along with the YouTube videos, it has really opened up my world. I have found freedom from things I didn’t know I was imprisoned by,…
How I see change for children of alcoholics!
In light of the amazing Liam Byrne’s campaign for change, and more help for children of alcoholics, I thought I’d outlay some of my thoughts. Firstly it was a great turn out at the all-party parliamentary group meeting on the 15th September, and great to hear some passionate input from a host of different people,…
Getting less anxious… About our anxiety!
Anxiety is something nearly every child of an alcoholic I have ever spoken to has had experience with in some form or another. So what is anxiety? A quick Google search and here’s the definition that comes up at the top- anxiety aŋˈzʌɪəti/ noun 1. a feeling of worry, nervousness, or unease about something with…
Being a COA is a thing! 