How to Survive a Dysfunctional Family

Dysfunctional families create a tumultuous home environment that is often filled with drug or alcohol abuse and domestic violence. To grow into a happy and healthy adult, you'll need to learn how to survive a dysfunctional family.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

1. Go to Suzanne Gold's Web site for advice on how to survive a dysfunctional family (see Resources below). The counselor has helpful resources, including the article "Surviving a Dysfunctional Family."
2. Realize the problem. One of the main strategies of surviving a dysfunctional family involves recognizing that your family has a problem and pinpointing the source of the dysfunction (for example, alcohol abuse, chronic illness or domestic discord).
3. Seek healthy individuals. To survive a dysfunctional family, you'll have to develop relationships with healthy people outside the family dynamic. Besides healthy minded friends, you'll probably want to start speaking to a counselor.
4. Work on your self-esteem. People who come from dysfunctional families often have self-esteem problems as adults. Use the "Self-Esteem Workbook" by Glenn Schiraldi to perform self-esteem building exercises.
5. Learn self-reliance. In your dysfunctional family, you may have experienced some form of neglect. You'll have to parent yourself and learn how to make sure all of your needs, physical and emotional, are met. A counselor can help you learn how to do this.

Tips & Warnings

• If you're in an abusive environment, seek help to escape it. Report the abuse to authorities and find out how to be placed in a safe haven.