The ACOA Mask

I read a blog that said ACOAs wear masks on a daily basis to hide who they really are from others.  After reading this I thought: Boy, without even knowing me this blogger has me pegged.  Growing up with an alcoholic father and an ACOA mother really did a number on me; not to mention my home environment.

I learned to put on an outer persona that I showed to the outside world while stuffing my true feelings way deep inside.  I’d buried my true self so deep for so long that I didn’t really know the girl behind the ACOA mask.  I still wear the mask even though I’m discovering and embracing my true self. 

Because of the ACOA mask that I’ve worn over the years, I didn’t develop healthy coping skill, so I became an avoider.  Anything I deemed hard, I’d avoid and opted to take the path of least resistance.  Also, my inability to be my true self caused me a great deal of anxiety; and dare I say, even depression.

Being in recovery has afforded me the opportunity to uncover, examine and work through the effects of being raised in an alcoholic home.  And slowly my ACOA mask is coming off.

Hi, I’m Liz Hawkins, and I’m a recovering Adult Child of an Alcoholic.