Effects of Alcohol on Family

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can be a more affective contributor to the disease than the alcohol itself.
Alcoholism is a disease that affects every member of the family. Some kids say that they usually have more problems dealing with the non-drinking parent than they do with the alcoholic. The reason for this is because the kids can predict what the alcoholic is going to do. They can't do that with the non-drinking parent. One minute the parent is screaming at the alcoholic and the next minute she/he is trying her best to calm the alcoholic down. She/he may not have realized it but the disease may have affected her/him more than the alcoholic parent. This is because the disease snuck up on her slowly and unexpectedly.
When alcohol takes over a person's life it gives them a role as an alcoholic. At this time everyone else in their family is given a role as well. They are forced to ignore their own needs and wants, and focus on the stability of the family. There is the caretaker, the hero, the scapegoat, the ...

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because the attention is all put on the alcoholic. Sometimes this child soon loses the ability to feel satisfied by the little attention that they have been receiving and start to do things that give them attention like acting out in school. The underlying feelings of the hero are fear, guilt, anger, and shame.
The scapegoat can be any member of the family. This person is blamed for the family's problems instead of putting the blame on the real problem, the alcoholic. The scapegoat gets all the personal attacks while the alcoholic is free to do what he wants to. "They will rebel, make noise, and divert attention from the person who is addicted and their need for help in addiction ...

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