Adult Children of Alcoholics Symptoms

This is a general list of Adult Children of Alcoholic symptoms you may experience.
Please use it to notice any problem areas in your life.  
You are not alone, there are many who understand.

  • Black & white thinking
  • Compulsive behavior
  • Controlling
  • Critical of self & others
  • Denial
  • Depression
  • Difficulty with emotions
  • Difficulty with intimacy
  • Diminished friendships
  • Diminished hobbies/interests
  • Disturbed sleep
  • Excessive caretaking
  • Excessive responsibility for others
  • Feeling guilty
  • Feeling unloveable
  • Heightened fear
  • Helplessness
  • Isolation
  • Lack of boundaries
  • Lack of energy
  • Lack of goals
  • Lack of joy
  • Lack of self-care
  • Lack of trust in self/others
  • Loneliness
  • Low self-esteem
  • Manipulative
  • Neediness & dependence
  • Obsessive thoughts
  • Perfectionism
  • Persistent anxiety
  • Persistent negative thoughts
  • Poor personal boundaries
  • Suppressed or uncontrollable anger
  • Black & white thinking
  • Compulsive behavior
  • Controlling
  • Critical of self & others
  • Denial
  • Depression
  • Difficulty with emotions
  • Difficulty with intimacy
  • Diminished friendships
  • Diminished hobbies/interests
  • Disturbed sleep
  • Excessive caretaking
  • Excessive responsibility for others
  • Feeling guilty
  • Feeling unloveable
  • Heightened fear
  • Helplessness
  • Isolation
  • Lack of boundaries
  • Lack of energy
  • Lack of goals
  • Lack of joy
  • Lack of self-care
  • Lack of trust in self/others
  • Loneliness
  • Low self-esteem
  • Manipulative
  • Neediness & dependence
  • Obsessive thoughts
  • Perfectionism
  • Persistent anxiety
  • Persistent negative thoughts
  • Poor personal boundaries
  • Suppressed or uncontrollable anger

The good news is these symptoms point to your ability to adjust to different environments. This means you can change! You are not broken. These are simply ways you (and many others) found to cope.  The goal is not to remove these survival traits but to adjust them to your current situation.

Wouldn’t it be a relief to have more choices? It certainly was a lightbulb moment when I discovered I had options! There are many paths of achieving this in therapy. Together we’ll find what works best for you.

You can rediscover yourself and find the joy of being you!
Click EMAIL or Call (503) 235-5300 for a complimentary meeting.