Approximately 27.8 million children in the United States are affected or exposed to a family alcohol problem, prompting the National Association for Children of Alcoholics (NACOA) to promote Children of Alcoholics Week to increase public awareness as to the plight of these children. To celebrate this year’s week, Narconon Louisiana gives but a brief glimpse into a child’s journey through life with alcoholic parents and how they subsequently overcame the loneliness and fear of their youth.
A student enrolled in the Narconon program bravely discussed the life that she led with two alcoholic parents.
“I realized my parents were different when I was 4 years old because every time I saw a glass bottle in their hands, they acted different, becoming mean and more disconnected towards me. I would often get yelled at and even pushed around by my father. When I got scared at night, they would lock me in my room so they wouldn’t have to bother with me.”
She went on to explain how her parents alcoholism affected her life. “I was very lonely and had no one to talk with. I felt very neglected emotionally. Then when I was 14, I started heading away from my parents and more toward my friends who were people that used drugs and drank alcohol. That’s what I had learned and what I had become comfortable around.”
The patterns of her parents became second nature as she traveled the same road as her parents. “As I got in a car to leave a party, I noticed how drunk the driver was. While he drove, he looked at down at his phone and lost control of the car, running off the road, through a guardrail and down a ravine toward the river. The car flipped several times and we stopped 50 feet into the ravine. I wasn’t wearing a seatbelt. Had there not been a tree to stop us, we would have gone into the river and both drowned.”
Since alcoholics use alcohol to solve the problems of life instead of control, reason, prediction of consequences and ethics, life will continue to get worse and eventually spirals out of control until he or she goes to a drug rehab. “That accident changed my life. While it should have shaken me into consciousness, it drove me further into being an alcoholic. I disconnected from everyone. I was depressed and began using heroin. My drug addiction got infinitely worse and everyone realized that my life was out of control.”
Narconon Louisiana honors the National Association for Children of Alcoholics for their commitment to children affected by parent’s alcohol abuse. We join them in the hope provided and needed for these children now, and for the rest of their lives.
"Since I have been at Narconon Louisiana, my life has gotten better. I’m not going to lie through, it’s been tough. Confronting things isn’t easy. Facing my life and my choices and taking responsibility is the hardest thing I have ever had to do. I know I can overcome my past and look toward a future!"
Do you need help with drug or alcohol abuse? Call Narconon Riverbend at 1-877-340-3602.
