When I first started attending secular 12-step meetings for the loved ones of lust addicts, I noticed that the facilitator of each meeting made sure to read information about the Seventh Tradition, which usually sounded something like this: “Our Seventh Tradition...
It was an argument over a grocery order. My husband and I were in the early days of my discovering his lust-driven secret life. Because he did not choose to disclose to me all of his deception at once—a concept called “trickle truth”—it seemed that every time I turned...
As I entered my first meeting for family and friends of sex addicts, I looked around the room and studied the faces there, wondering if they would understand. After all, I had a secret in addition to how sex addiction was affecting my marriage, but it was such a dark...
The holiday season, often synonymous with family gatherings, can evoke a mix of joy and suffering for adult children of dysfunction. Past wounds may resurface, and triggers linked to family dynamics might cast shadows over the festivities. Below are a few key...
We still hadn’t even finished writing out the thank you notes for the wedding gifts when the effects of my husband’s lust addiction first hit hard. We had been married for less than three months. It was a rainy Friday night, and I’d made it home from work first. I’d...
For Adult Children of Dysfunctional Homes, the journey of healing is often paved with the need to establish and maintain healthy boundaries. These boundaries are not merely about self-preservation; they are about fostering an environment where love, compassion, and...
The night I visited my first meeting for family and friends of lust addicts, I heard so many new terms in the space of that hour that, for a second, I wondered if I’d landed on another planet. None of the words were exactly foreign, but the folks in that meeting used...
I remember being at a Catholic spirituality conference the summer before I got married. The conference included a time of Eucharistic adoration, and so in the silence of that space, I did what any faithful Catholic fiancée would do and opened up to God about my fears....
Growing up amidst the turbulence of alcoholism and dysfunction, my instinctive urge for control was born from a longing for stability. As I navigate this journey of healing, I am discovering that true liberation springs not only from acceptance but from surrendering...
Growing up as an adult child of a dysfunctional home (ACDH) can leave lasting emotional scars. One of the most challenging aspects of our journey to healing is confronting painful relationships with controlling, manipulative, and abusive family members. That is why...