My sisters finally became so disturbed by our household problems that they moved out. They moved in with my maternal grandmother. After my father became even weaker, my mother drank less and less. She was given the position of being the breadwinner for the family and she had to take care of my father, she had no time for alcohol. My father came to the point where he would skip eating to drink. His alcoholism had major effects on our family.
Even with all of the first hand knowledge, I also let alcoholism into my life. At the time, it was expected for an individual to drink socially. At times, it was not only acceptable, but was basically a requirement to drink amongst your co-workers for you to be part of the team. Since we are all social animals, I allowed myself to journey down that path, knowing of all the possible consequences. Fortunately, I came to my senses and stopped before I let it destroy my family, my life, and me. My children seem unaffected by my drinking, except for one, whom I am still working on, and I will never give up on her. .
While most of us know that alcoholism is a disease, we may not recognize it as a disease that affects the entire family physically, emotionally, and spiritually. If a child lives in an unhealthy family environment, they are dependent on their parents, and that is all that they learn. If the parent is violent, the child becomes violent, etc. Parents are the children's ultimate influence and they create the child's out look on life. Children of alcoholics seem to have little grasp on what is "normal". Many children from alcoholic homes are not experiencing enough love and self-esteem in their homes. An alcoholic's child can display impairment in self-esteem, sense of identity, lack of control, and sexual orientation. Promiscuity in daughters, excessive aggressiveness in sons, abnormal levels of tension and competition between siblings and negative bonds between family members are also common behaviors.
