ACA Daily ReaderACA Daily Reader
ACA Tuesday Zoombox
Paulette shares her experience as an adult child of alcoholics, describing how ACA literature, especially the Daily Reader, helped her recognise triggers rooted in childhood. She talks about shifting from survival reactions to healthier responses, using ACA tools, meetings, and promises to build self-esteem and move towards her true self.
15:18•17 Jul 2026
Paulette on Triggers, Denial and Recovering Into a True Self
Episode Overview
- Recognising that alcoholism is a family disease can help adult children see how they absorbed the traits of addiction themselves.
- The ACA Daily Reader’s focus on triggers offers practical guidance on facing old memories instead of stuffing them down.
- ACA provides a safe and loving space to bring buried resentments and childhood pain into the open, which can lessen their power over time.
- Tools like the serenity prayer, pausing before reacting, and checking motives support healthier responses to feeling attacked or belittled.
- ACA promises, such as growing self-esteem through daily self-approval, give hope that long-held shame and negative self-image can soften.
“We don’t just recover from our addiction. We recover into our true selves.”
What drives someone to seek a life without alcohol? Paulette’s share on ACA Tuesday Zoombox brings that question right into focus, especially for anyone who grew up in a chaotic home and later found themselves repeating the same patterns. Paulette introduces herself as the eldest of seven in a family where her mum was the alcoholic and her dad later joined her in that illness. The family rule was simple: you don’t talk about the problem.
As an adult, she went on to marry first a man filled with rage and then a partner who was both alcoholic and drug dependent. By the time she first entered recovery over three decades ago, she describes herself as “full of anger, full of resentment, full of shame, and full of fear.” What makes this share stand out is how honestly she connects her past to her present.
A piece of literature helped her realise, “that’s me… I am part of the problem,” and that moment marked the start of her recovery journey. Months ago she came into ACA, drawn to the ACA Daily Reader and particularly to the entry on triggers.
She reads: “We often cannot avoid triggers, but we can change the way we deal with them,” and explains how ACA’s focus on bringing old memories and resentments “to the table in a safe and loving environment” has helped those memories lose some of their grip. You’ll hear her talk about the Laundry List, para‑alcoholism, and how triggers show up for her around loud, aggressive people.
She shares how she uses the serenity prayer, pauses before reacting, and checks her motives. One speaker’s line hits home for her: “we don’t just recover from our addiction… we recover into our true selves.” For anyone who feels like the “queen of denial” or who’s baffled by their own reactions, Paulette’s story offers relatable experience, gentle humour, and a reminder that self‑esteem can grow one honest day at a time.
How might your triggers be pointing you back to the child you once were?
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