You may not be the person with the addiction.

You may not drink heavily.

You may not use substances at all.

In fact, you may be the responsible one.

The successful one.

The dependable one.

The person everyone else relies on.

And yet, growing up with a parent who struggled with alcohol may still be affecting your life in ways you don’t fully recognize.

Loving someone with addiction can feel like living in survival mode.

You may find yourself:

• constantly waiting for the next phone call

• checking their location, their tone, their behavior

• trying to predict whether today will be a good day or a crisis

And somewhere along the way… your own nervous system starts changing too.

You become hypervigilant.
Emotionally exhausted.
Unable to relax.

You may feel like your entire life revolves around whether they’re okay.

And the hardest part?

Many people around you don’t fully understand what you’re carrying.