years. It led the way by making our decisions and settling all of our critical issues. I,

she, or we didn't -- but alcohol did. Specifically, my partner's addiction to alcohol

was the most important force in our family. She drank every evening for at least two

or three hours. Our child and I became addicted to her use of alcohol, and all of us

served to keep the alcohol flowing. If we did not manage this each evening, then we

argued, fought, and verbally abused each other. *BR*

Hearing others' stories helped me break the rule about not trusting. I had disconnected

from my feelings so much that I didn't know if I could trust what I saw or heard. When I

was a child I heard, "Your father is just tired, honey." I also heard, "I never said that. You

must have imagined it." Everything was so confusing that I became unsure of myself.

Thank God that so many Al-Anon members validated my feelings. They helped me learn

Research also shows that COAs exhibit symptoms of depression and anxiety more

It was by breaking my family's rules about talking and trusting that I finally found the

There are over 28 million children of alcoholics in America; almost 11 million are

be referred to a school counselor or psychologist (Johnson and Rolf, 1988). *BR*

for a wide variety of emotional, behavioral, and physical problems during childhood,

Stone, Barnum, and Wharton, 1986). *BR*

of alcoholism. Still other factors, such as social support, may help to protect even

invisible because their coping behavior tends to be approval seeking and socially

Some common words found in the essay are:
God Al-Anon, SIZE=3 PTSIZE=10*Clearly, United States--1, McElfresh Anderson, Leonard Jacob, Johnson Rolf, Eigen Rowden, *br* *br*, Research COAs, Barnum Wharton, Genetics Alcoholism, *br* *br* *br*, child abuse, rolf 1988, break rule, alcohol dependent, johnson rolf 1988, johnson rolf,
Approximate Word count = 682
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)