Adult Children Of Alcoholics Revisited

What it is and where to find it.

Why it is and continues to be:

Why We First Came to ACA

“Our lives didn’t work; they had become unmanageable. We exhausted all the methods we thought were supposed to have made us happy, healthy, and successful. In trying to reach our desired ends, we exhausted our resources. We often lost our creativity, our flexibility, and our sense of humor. No matter what we did, the results no longer gave us the thrill, the joy, the sense of power, or the feeling of elation they once did. We were at a dead-end. Continuing the same existence was no longer an option. Nevertheless, we couldn’t quite abandon the notion that if we knew just one more thing about how the world worked…

So we tried one more time. With little to win, nothing to lose, we came to our first meeting.”

Why We Keep Coming Back

“In ACA we come to understand how our childhood experiences affect our behavior and choices today. We learn how our behavior affects others, and we learn that we can change it. Gradually, from an adult perspective, we reexamine our life decisions. This is the first step in reparenting. Ultimately we become happier, stronger, more capable, and more able to take on a proactive role. We learn to be more respectful of ourselves. The quality of our lives improves as we learn to define and communicate our boundaries and insist that they be honored.”