When Your Adult Child Breaks Your Heart: Coping with Mental Illness, Substance Abuse, and the Problems That Tear Families Apart

When Your Adult Child Breaks Your Heart: Coping with Mental Illness, Substance Abuse, and the Problems That Tear Families Apart

When Your Adult Child Breaks Your Heart: Coping with Mental Illness, Substance Abuse, and the Problems That Tear Families Apart

When Your Adult Child Breaks Your Heart: Coping with Mental Illness, Substance Abuse, and the Problems That Tear Families Apart

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Overview

Behind nearly every adult who is accused of a crime, becomes addicted to drugs or alcohol, or who is severely mentally ill and acting out in public, there is usually at least one extremely stressed-out parent. This parent may initially react with the bad news of their adult child behaving badly with, "Oh no!" followed by, "How can I help to fix this?" A very common third reaction is the thought, "Where did I go wrong--was it something I said or did, or that I failed to do when my child was growing up that caused these issues? Is this really somehow all my fault?" These parents then open their homes, their pocketbooks, their hearts, and their futures to "saving" their adult child--who may go on to leave them financially and emotionally broken.  Sometimes these families also raise the children their adult children leave behind: 1.6 million grandparents in the U.S. are in this situation.
       This helpful book presents families with quotations and scenarios from real suffering parents (who are not identified), practical advice, and tested strategies for coping. It also discusses the fact that parents of adult children may themselves need therapy and medications, especially antidepressants. The book is written in a clear, reassuring manner by Dr. Joel L. Young, medical director of the Rochester Center for Behavioral Medicine in Rochester Hills, Michigan; with noted medical writer Christine Adamec, author of many books in the field. 
         In the wake of the Newtown shooting and the viral popularity of the post "I Am Adam Lanza's Mother," America is now taking a fresh look, not only at gun control, but also on how we treat mental illness. Another major issue is our support or stigmatization of those with adult children who are a major risk to their families as well to society itself.  This book is part of that conversation.


Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781493003969
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
Publication date: 12/03/2013
Sold by: Barnes & Noble
Format: eBook
Pages: 264
Sales rank: 1,045,575
File size: 394 KB

About the Author

Joel L. Young, M.D. is a board-certified adolescent, adult and forensic psychiatrist. He is the medical director of the Rochester Center for Behavioral Medicine outside of Detroit. RCBM is a clinical research site and outpatient clinic specializing in the treatment of individuals and families struggling with mental illness, including ADHD, substance use disorders, mood disorders, and psychosis. In addition, Dr. Young teaches Psychiatry at the Wayne State University School of Medicine. He is the author of ADHD Grown Up and Contemporary Guide to Adult ADHD.  More information about Dr. Young, and the Rochester Center of Behavioral Medicine can be fount at www.rcbm.net.

 

Christine Adamec has written more than 30 self-help books and encyclopedias, most recently Amphetamines and Methamphetamine and The Encyclopedia of Kidney Diseases and Disorders. In addition, she coauthored Fibromyalgia for Dummies. Adamec has also written or coauthored numerous books on substance abuse and mental illness, including The Encyclopedia of Alcoholism and Alcohol Abuse, The Encyclopedia of Drug Abuse and How to Live with a Mentally Ill Person.  Read more at christineadamec.com

Table of Contents

Introduction vii

How to Use This Book xi

Part 1 Identifying the Problems 1

Chapter 1 Understanding the Severe Problems Adult Children Can Cause 2

Chapter 2 Your Emotions and Behavioral Reactions 22

Chapter 3 If Your Adult Child Lives with You 36

Part 2 Types of Problem Behavior and What You Can and Can't Do 55

Chapter 4 Bad Parenting 56

Chapter 5 Criminal Behavior 69

Chapter 6 Alcoholism and Drug Addiction 85

Chapter 7 Other Psychiatric Problems 108

Chapter 8 Suicidal Behavior 140

Part 3 Taking Care of Yourself 161

Chapter 9 Your Physical and Emotional Health 162

Chapter 10 Your Relationships with Family and Friends 180

Chapter 11 Setting Limits: What You Can or Can't Do 196

Chapter 12 Facing Reality and Walking Away 212

Conclusion 226

Acknowledgments 230

Appendices 232

A Important National Organizations That May Help 233

B Key Websites 235

C State-by-State Listing of Child Abuse Hotlines 236

Bibliography 239

Index 246

About the Authors 252

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