Self-help Articles

by Richard B. Patterson, Ph.D.

It's apparent that you are working hard on healing yourself. Be patient. Growing up around alcoholism can leave many scars, some of which don't start to emerge until we move into adult life.

This is especially true if some of the experiences you had were traumatic in nature. In your efforts to find peace, I can offer the following thoughts:

1. Discuss with your therapist the possibility that you may be suffering from Post-traumatic Stress Disorder. Irritability is one of the symptoms of this syndrome.
2. If you haven't looked into Adult Children of Alcoholics (ACoA), consider it. This support group follows the twelve steps of AA in helping persons heal.
3. Often fear underlies anger. So, in examining incidents of anger, you might ask yourself "What am/was I afraid of?" This awareness can often diffuse anger.
4. There are good articles on anger control elsewhere in this magazine. Do a search with "anger" as the key word.

Make the effort to take special care of yourself. Get out in nature if you can. Go for a walk. Find pleasant activities that will nurture you. Having an alcoholic parent can mean that you didn't receive guidance for a positive life.

About the Author:

Richard B. Patterson, Ph.D. is a clinical psychologist in private practice in El Paso, TX. He is the author of three books on psychology and spirituality.