[Dancnonthestars]

http://http://www.mental-health-matters.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=434



I recently had to go to the counseling center on campus due to anxiety. Since I was a little girl, I've had trouble with anxiety. People don't usually recognize it when I spiral into this mental maddness because I have a calm look plastered on. Anyway, during my appointment with my counselor I told her about my past with my Dad and all the nastiness therein. She explained that I have Adult Child syndrome- due to the fact my father was an alcoholic. I looked it up afterwards and was struck by how some people typed under enneagram number 6 may have had the same upbringing. The knowledge has been a great help in understanding why I feel odd periods of abandonment and shame, or why I have an almost innate distrust of people. So, for anyone else out there who can relate, you're not alone.

[unico]

I also had an alcoholic father (he's been dead almost 11 years now) and he was very abusive. I was told about adult child syndrome by my first therapist and read a book on it. I really relate to what I've read on the topic. For reference, though, I'm a type 4, but I have 6 in my tritype.

[dejavu]

I'm pretty sure I'm a type 9, but I have an alcoholic mom. She did not become an alcoholic until I was about 15, so maybe I was spared some of the psychological trauma. Still, it's been very hard...I do relate to some of that article.

[celticstained]

i'll have to read the article when i have more time but i have thought that... well, either there's a nature or nurture "reason" for the way we are, and if it's nurture then maybe it could be something like... well a lot things. for instance, it could range from: your parents were paranoid and you picked up on the tendencies or, maybe you lived in an abusive household (like myself) and were forced to be aware of possible dangers for your own health and well being... so you developed a knack for "being aware".

[yesiknowbut]

Type 6 is supposedly associated with this, but from people's descriptions here it takes different forms. I'm pretty sure I'm a type 6, but I don't have a need to control or to belong. I do, however, scope out potential problems from a long way off, always imagine worst case scenarios, hate conflict and dislike the idea of being vulnerable.

So the ACOA stuff: very interesting, indeed. Although it didn't seem focussed enough to understand, too many variants of childhood traumas to have reacted to, and too many symptoms for a one-size-fits-all diagnosis. And as soon as the "higher power" gets brought in, I switch off.

[Kressida]

Well add me to the tally. Type 6w7 and my father is an alcoholic. So was my grandmother.

The article is interesting, though much of what is described are things I felt while still dependent on my parents -- specifically during high school and the first couple of years of college. I moved out on my own when I was 20 and found just being independent from the problem (my dad) was the treatment I needed most.

[Jamie.Ether]

http://http://www.mental-health-matters.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=434

I recently had to go to the counseling center on campus due to anxiety. Since I was a little girl, I've had trouble with anxiety. People don't usually recognize it when I spiral into this mental maddness because I have a calm look plastered on. Anyway, during my appointment with my counselor I told her about my past with my Dad and all the nastiness therein. She explained that I have Adult Child syndrome- due to the fact my father was an alcoholic. I looked it up afterwards and was struck by how some people typed under enneagram number 6 may have had the same upbringing. The knowledge has been a great help in understanding why I feel odd periods of abandonment and shame, or why I have an almost innate distrust of people. So, for anyone else out there who can relate, you're not alone.

Have you the book Adult Children of Alcoholics? If you haven't, I really recommend it. It was very helpful to me and I've shared it with a few people. You're definitely not alone either.