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Has living alongside addiction changed you?

Somebody supporting another with alcohol addiction
I grew up in an alcoholic household, and although I can’t directly prove it, I think my experiences from that period have shaped my personality as an adult, particularly around emotion:

  • I struggle to express certain feelings. Stress, anxiety, sadness only ever seem to manifest as anger and frustration, for example.
  • I find myself suppressing emotion in unhelpful ways. In emotionally intense situations, I find my brain putting up a wall where I just don’t feel much of what’s going on.

These long-term effects have unfortunately made some major life events such as weddings, funerals, and birth of children quite emotionally numb affairs.

The few people I’ve spoken to about this have immediately suggested it’s a learned coping mechanism for potentially traumatic situations, but I’m not so sure. 

Has anyone else experienced anything similar?
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