 According to American addiction centers, roughly 45% of the U.S. population has been exposed to some form of alcoholism or alcoholic behavior within their family. This translates to as many as 76 million people, and approximately 26 million of those individuals are children. Our purpose is to create a space where you feel safe, heard, and connected in regards to the struggles you face. Even though this article pertains to alcoholic parents, if you were raised in a household that had overly strict religious attitudes, parents with chronic illnesses, or parents exhibiting other compulsive behavior such as gambling, drug abuse, or overeating, then you may also find it relatable. We hope that by passing along the following information, it helps you understand what's happening, whether that pertains to the relationship you have with others or the conflict you experience internally. Here's 7 ways alcoholic parents affect their children. Number 1. Adult children struggle with understanding what a normal family is like because they don't have an example to follow during their childhood. As a result, they have to guess what it means to be normal. They may also not understand the difference between good world models and bad ones. When you're little, you expect your parents to be superheroes, so their behavior and actions are never wrong, even if they hurt you. Number 2. You're hard on yourself and you find it challenging to relax or make light of situations. Children of alcoholic parents have a hard time giving themselves a break. They often feel like they have to go the extra mile and do things to the best of their ability because they feel like a failure otherwise. As a result, children of alcoholic parents may grow up with identity issues because they're unsure about who they are when they aren't doing more to fulfill themselves. Number 3. You have trust issues, which makes it difficult for you to establish close, intimate relationships. Children who grow up with alcoholic parents find it hard to trust others when they experience such a chaotic relationship with them. It's their first relationship they ever built, which leaves a huge scarring effect that unfortunately influences the way they form relationships later on in their adulthood. They have difficulty being vulnerable and opening up, afraid that someone will hurt or betray them because they've been constantly let down by their parents' toxic behavior. Number 4. They're frightened by conflict, angry people, and authority figures in general. Alcoholic parents can be angry, mean, and abusive. As a result, children who grow up with them may experience verbal, physical, and or sexual abuse. Because their parents may not have created a safe space where they were allowed to express their emotions, they may try to avoid conflict at all costs because they fear upsetting their parents. This makes it hard for children to confront their alcoholic parents about issues that hurt or bother them. Number 5. They have a fear of being abandoned. Alcoholic parents are often emotionally or physically unavailable. As a result, children who are raised by them often develop a fear of being abandoned. When they find themselves in relationships that are bad for them, they don't always know how to leave them because the thought of being alone scares them more. Number 6. You're either super responsible and have perfectionistic tendencies or the opposite. Children who grow up with alcoholic parents may have faced a lot of harsh criticism from them. This often causes the child to try to be perfect in order to avoid hearing hurtful words. As a result, children of alcoholic parents may grow up to be workaholics and overachievers. They also tend to blame themselves, so they may take responsibility for problems that weren't even their own. On the other hand, children who grew up with alcoholic parents may become irresponsible too when they've given up on trying to be perfect. Since their parents always criticize them, they may not see the point in trying at all. Number 7. You may often be attracted to excitement and want to save people, confusing love with pity. Children of alcoholic parents are often attracted to excitement because they have experienced an unpredictable roller coaster of chaos. As a result, they mistake that sort of instability as passion, so they seek the same kind of experience within their romantic relationships. Often, adult children of alcoholic parents are attracted to cold and emotionally unavailable partners who they try to fix or save. It makes them feel wanted, but those types of relationships are inevitably sour when they entered them all for the wrong reasons initially. Living in a household that negatively affected your personal growth can be difficult. We want to let you know that you're not alone and encourage you to share your story with us in the comments below. On a lighter note, Psych2Go is now selling shirts. Check the description for links to our store. Don't forget to subscribe and as always, thanks for watching.