Product Description

You are not Codependent simply because your adult child is an addict or alcoholic. All parents of addicted children of any age are terrified, confused, feel out of control, lose sleep, dread the phone calls at 3:00 in the morning. This book is for parents who are Afraid to Let Go because they do not know how to set boundaries with their adult children without feeling crippling anxiety, or walling themselves off to make separation possible. You cant let go. You cant detach with love. You cant let them hit bottom. You cant seem to implement the strategies you have learned when you are faced with your adult childs chaos and anxiety. When you try to do this, it makes you physically and emotionally ill, and the anxiety and fear becomes unbearable. If you are struggling with Codependency, your relationship with your child is not be the only relationship where you experience a loss of self, over-reactivity, adrenalin rushes when you feel out of control, or behave intrusively or impulsively to help in situations even when your assistance has not been requested. If you are Codependent, this is not the first relationship in which you have over-given and then felt resentful, or sacrificed yourself to give someone what you decided they needed because if you dont, who will? Afraid to Let Go explores the developmental origins of Codependency that lead to painful behavioral reactivity in response to our addicted adult children. Afraid to Let Go then connects the chronic stress of the chaos of addiction with adrenal system damage, and points you toward concrete behavioral changes you can make to heal regardless of the sobriety of your adult child.

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Mary Crocker Cook, D.Min., LMFT, CADCII is a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist with extensive experience working with addicted families over the last 20 years. She is the author of , and coordinates the Alcohol and Drug Studies Program at San Jose City College in San Jose, California.