The more we live in the past, the more that we’ll be trapped and stagnate.

The tricky thing about growing up in an alcoholic family is that we tend to repeat the past. What do I mean?

If we fear abandonment, we might choose partners who are not physically or emotionally present for us? We crave to try and solve the abandonment issues of our past by trying to solve that same issue in our present.

Does that make any sense?

No.

The Adult Children of Alcoholics’ laundry list can be an eye-opening shock to how we’re living our lives. Read that list, take it in, and be honest with yourself on whether you recognize yourself in any of the behaviors on the list.

I recognize some, and I have felt shame for that.

Instead of being down on myself, I’m choosing to shine a light on those behaviors. If I don’t do that, then I’ll continue to live in the past and repeat the same mistakes.

I cannot go back in time and fix the problems of my childhood. What happened to me is far in the past. I may not be able to fix the past, but I can do two extremely important things:

• Accept the past.

• Let it go.

Today we have a choice. We can blame what happened to us on our past and continue to live as victims, or we can accept who we are and choose healthy behaviors to keep us on a path of healing.

Every day is a new opportunity to either accept the challenge and grow or to blame others and get caught up in the dysfunctional cycle of generational alcoholism.

Although you may not be an alcoholic, if you grew up in an alcoholic home, you have a good chance of having taken on some of the behaviors of an alcoholic.

Freedom and healing take time, acceptance, and self-love.

When you let go of the past and chart a new path toward self-acceptance and healing, you will embark on a journey that will help you find peace and fulfillment in life.

Read the Adult Children of Alcoholics’ laundry list. Be honest, and then decide what you want to do.

See a therapist, go to an Adult Children of Alcoholics Anonymous meeting, and see the world open for you in ways that you had not thought possible.

Like what you’ve read? Be sure to check out my other posts in my Let Go and Be Free blog.