How to Know if You're an Adult Child- Part 1: The Laundry List | Episode 193

Published: Jan. 2, 2023, 5 a.m.

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A huge part of my recovery has been coming out of denial and part of my denial journey is coming to realize that I am what\\u2019s called an Adult Child and then, once I realized that - that more traits of an adult child apply to me than I once believed. This week\\u2019s episode 193 of the Fragmented to Whole Podcast is part 1 of how to know if you\\u2019re an adult child- The Laundry List!

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In this episode of the Fragmented to Whole Podcast, I\\u2019m reading what is affectionately called The Laundry List- the 14 traits of an adult child and sharing my experience of coming to realize how these traits apply to me- whether they were obvious to me at first or not.\\xa0

The 14 traits on The Laundry List include:

  1. We became isolated and afraid of people and authority figures.
  2. We became approval seekers and lost our identity in the process.
  3. We are frightened by angry people and any personal criticism.
  4. We either become alcoholics, marry them, or both, or find another compulsive personality such as a workaholic to fulfill our sick abandonment needs.
  5. We live life from the viewpoint of victims and we are attracted by that weakness in our love and friendship relationships.
  6. We have an overdeveloped sense of responsibility and it is easier for us to be concerned with others rather than ourselves; this enables us not to look too closely at our own faults, etc.
  7. We get guilty feelings when we stand up for ourselves instead of giving in to others.
  8. We became addicted to excitement.
  9. We confuse love and pity and tend to \\u201clove\\u201d people we can \\u201cpity\\u201d and \\u201crescue.\\u201d
  10. We have \\u201cstuffed\\u201d our feelings from our traumatic childhoods and have lost the ability to feel or express our feelings because it hurts so much (Denial).
  11. We judge ourselves harshly and have a very low sense of self-esteem.
  12. We are dependent personalities who are terrified of abandonment and will do anything to hold on to a relationship in order not to experience painful abandonment feelings, which we received from living with sick people who were never there emotionally for us.
  13. Alcoholism is a family disease, and we became para-alcoholics and took on the characteristics of that disease even though we did not pick up the drink.
  14. Para-alcoholics are reactors rather than actors.

These are the survival traits we adapted to represent our \\u201cfalse self\\u201d and protect ourselves as a result of growing up in a dysfunctional family. If these don\\u2019t resonate with you, stay tuned for part 2 where I cover The Other Laundry List.

Thank you for listening! If you enjoyed this episode, take a screenshot of the episode to post in your stories and tag me!\\xa0 And don\\u2019t forget to follow, rate and review the podcast and tell me your key takeaways!

LINKS MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

The Laundry List\\xa0

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