Recovery begins with speaking our truth, naming our reality, our experiences. Exploring past history means asking questions such as “What happened that was hurtful to me?” “What didn’t I have that I needed?” One does not explore the past to assign blame but to discover and acknowledge reality. It is my belief that family members truly want the best for each other and that begins with honesty. We aren’t betraying our parents, or siblings when we become honest about our reality. If there is an act of betrayal, it is with the addiction, the dysfunction of the family system. When we do not talk honestly about our experiences we ultimately betray the potential health of the family and ourselves.

To let go of the past we must be willing to break through denial so we can grieve our pain. In other words, we have to admit to ourselves the truth of what happened, rather than hide or keep secret the hurt and wounds that occurred. It is difficult to speak honestly today when we have had to deny, minimize, or discount the first 15 or 20 years of our lives. There is no doubt denial became a skill that served us as a child in a survival mode. Unfortunately denial, which begins as a defense, becomes a skill that interferes with how we live our life today. We take the skill of minimizing, rationalizing, discounting into every aspect of our life. When we let go of denial, and acknowledge the past, it gives us the opportunity to identify our losses and to grieve the pain associated. It is the opportunity to genuinely put the past behind us. Exploring the past is an act of empowerment.

It is vital, however, that we go beyond the first step. Otherwise, the grief process simply becomes a blaming process. That has never been the intent of adult child recovery.

We continue with recovery as we move from the process of breaking our denial and grieving our pain.

Connect the past to the present means asking “How does this past pain and loss influence who I am today?” “How does the past affect who I am as a parent, in the work place, in a relationship, how I feel about myself?” The cause and effect connections we discover between our past losses and present lives give us a sense of direction. It allows us to become more centered in the here and now. This clarity will identify the areas we need to work on.

Challenging internalized beliefs means asking, “What beliefs have I internalized from my growing up years? Are they helpful or hurtful to me today? What beliefs would support me in living a healthier life?” So often we internalized beliefs such as, “It is not okay to say No,” or “Other people’s needs are more important than my own.” “No one will listen to what I have to say,” or “The world owes me and I am entitled.” “People will take advantage of me.” If these beliefs are getting in the way of how we want to live our life we need to take responsibility for what we do with them. We need to let them go and recreate new beliefs in their place.

Learning new skills means asking, ”What did I not learn that would help me today?” As well, some of the skills we learned were often skills and behaviors that were premature for our age, or learned from a basis of fear or shame. When that occurs there is a tendency to feel like an imposter. In those situations, addressing the feelings and beliefs associated with the skill will make it more likely we can feel greater confidence in those skills.

With the many different issues adult children may need to address, from healthier decision making to realistic expectations, setting limits, to expressing feelings, etc., these four steps are not always linear. In general, we do them in the order listed, but as you will quickly experience, you often keep coming back to a previous step to do another piece of work.

The knowledge that comes in owning our past and connecting it to the present is vital in developing empathy for the strength of both our defenses and skills. It also helps us to lessen our shame and not hold ourselves accountable for the pain we have carried. When we understand there are reasons for why we have lived our lives as we have, and that it is not because there is something inherently wrong with who we are, that we are not bad, that understanding fuels our ongoing healing. The change we want to create in our life will be made directly as a result of letting go of old, hurtful belief systems and learning new skills.

Addressing adult child issues is about taking responsibility for what we do with our life. It allows us to live with honesty and choices.