I grew up with addiction, now I have a loved one who is also addicted. How do I address both issues?

It is not uncommon for someone who grew up with addiction in the family to marry someone with an addiction, have a child who develops an addiction, or both.

This is another reason for you to work on your own healing and recovery.

As an adult child of a mother and stepfather with addictions, however, I know that a specialized focus on issues specific to adult children can be extremely helpful. You might want to seek out 12-Step meetings that focus solely on adult children. You might want to learn as much as possible about the issues specific to adult children.

I would also suggest you learn more about complex PTSD, as children raised in homes affected by addiction often develop complex PTSD by the time they are adults, even if there was no physical violence in the home.

I’ve listed resources for this on the Resources page on my website. There are also resources there that are specific to parents of a substance user.