By Marie ClaireOriginal Source: marieclaire.co.uk

Having spent her childhood watching her father battle with alcohol, Charlotte Philby has since grappled with her own addictions. Here, she examines what makes people vulnerable and how to overcome the triggers.

Anyone who has grown up in the shadow of addiction knows the power it holds. As a child, you feel it when you’re driven from pub to pub in the small hours, looking for your dad’s car. It is lodged in your chest as you wait to be picked up from school by a parent who doesn’t arrive. You see it in the eyes of the police officer who arrests your father for drink-driving at 3pm in the afternoon. I can still feel those moments from my own childhood, like a stone in my gut.Is it any coincidence that children like me, who have grown up with the anxiety, chaos and shame of addiction, often fall into similar patterns later in life? Like many female addicts, I’ve battled everything from heavy smoking to bulimia and, considering my past, the fear of addiction has only been exacerbated by the idea that...click here to continue reading