Eric had headaches so “hot” and painful, he described them as cannonballs pounding on his head – until he learned to visualize breathing in an ice blue color to cool down his hot headache. Missy could barely get herself to sit at her desk and homework took hours – until she imagined Albert Einstein as [...]

(Courtesy of The Huffington Post) Old pain that gets imported into new relationships is the hallmark of the ACoA trauma syndrome. The past we thought we’d neatly left behind once we got tall enough, old enough or smart enough intrudes onto our present and we are returned, in the blink of an eye, to childhood [...]

By Thomas Gagliano The intention in writing this article is not to bash parents or caregivers but rather to illustrate, through personal experience, the impact childhood messages have on the roles we play in adulthood. It’s fair to state that our caregivers created the first perceptions we had on the way we view the world [...]

The Betty Ford Children’s Program serves such a richly diverse group of families hurt by alcoholism and other drug addiction. Many of our courageous children live in homes where that cunning, powerful and baffling disease is still active. Others come from families where their loved one is currently in treatment somewhere in the United States. [...]

I’m writing this for people who are living with someone — or care for someone — who is suffering with a chronic pain condition, and they are having a hard time coping because they’re not sure how to help. Unless someone’s been in your place, they have no idea how challenging this can really be. [...]

I had a wonderful experience recently when I attended Camp Mariposa (butterfly in Spanish), a camp for children ages 9-12 affected by addiction in the family. A few years ago I was approached by Karen and Jamie Moyer (he, a professional baseball player) about their foundation whose mission is focused on children in need. The [...]

by Tian Dayton, PhD Which characteristics do you identify with and to what extent? This is something of a self-test and a survey. If you are an Adult Child of Alcoholism or Addiction (ACOA), you may have been both traumatized and strengthened by that experience. Following is a survey of both the positive and the [...]