The Dis-equilibrating Dynamics of an Addicted Family System

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Visit the living room of the average family that is “living with,” or should I say “drowning in,” addiction and you are likely to find a family that is functioning in emotional extremes. Where feelings can explode and get very big, very fast or implode and disappear into “nowhere” with equal velocity. Where what doesn’t matter can get unusual focus while what does matter can be routinely swept under the rug. A family in which small, fairly insignificant behaviors can be blown way out of proportion while outrageous or even abusive ones can go entirely ignored and unidentified. Where things don’t really get talked about but instead become shelved, circumvented or downright denied.

Dr. Tian Dayton, Senior Fellow at The Meadows, explores how seesawing from one emotional extreme to the other, may manifest in the thinking, feeling, and behavior of the family.

Full Article: The Dis-equilibrating Dynamics of an Addicted Family System