Episode Details

What happens when childhood dysfunction follows you into adulthood?

In this deeply healing episode of Adult Child of Dysfunction, Tammy sits down with licensed therapist and ACOA specialist Kara Lissy to unpack the lasting effects of growing up in an alcoholic or dysfunctional home.

Together, they explore childhood trauma, nervous system dysregulation, people pleasing, grief, shame, perfectionism, emotional neglect, boundaries, and what healing actually looks like as an adult child of dysfunction.

If you've ever struggled with anxiety, hypervigilance, relationship issues, emotional triggers, or feeling “not enough,” this episode will help you understand why and show you that healing is possible.

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Did you grow up walking on eggshells, feeling hypervigilant, anxious, emotionally neglected, or constantly trying to keep the peace?

If so, you are not alone.

In this powerful episode of Adult Child of Dysfunction, Tammy sits down with licensed therapist, ACOA specialist, and author Kara Lissy, LCSW, to talk about what really happens when you grow up in an alcoholic or dysfunctional family system and how those childhood experiences continue shaping your relationships, nervous system, self-worth, and emotional patterns as an adult.

Kara brings both professional expertise and lived experience to this conversation, sharing her own story of growing up with alcoholism in the home, navigating shame, grief, hypervigilance, people pleasing, and eventually turning pain into purpose through therapy and healing work.

Together, Tammy and Kara discuss:

✔ Adult Children of Alcoholics (ACOA) and dysfunctional family patterns

✔ Childhood trauma and nervous system dysregulation

✔ Why people pleasing and perfectionism develop

✔ Shame, grief, and healing your inner child

✔ Emotional neglect and hypervigilance

✔ Why leaving home doesn’t automatically heal trauma

✔ Boundaries, emotional regulation, and self-trust

✔ Breaking generational cycles of dysfunction

✔ How to stop living in survival mode

This episode is for anyone who grew up in chaos, emotional neglect, addiction, criticism, unpredictability, or dysfunction and wants to finally understand why they struggle with triggers, anxiety, emotional overwhelm, or relationships.

Healing is possible. And no, it was never your fault.

CONNECT WITH KARA LISSY

Instagram: @kara_bout_yourself

Website: www.karalissy.com

Blog/Substack: karalissylcsw.substack.com

Grab Kara’s book: Healing From a Dysfunctional Family

Hey there, I’m so glad you’re here and tuning in! If this episode spoke to your heart, just know there’s even more support waiting for you.

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If you would like to ask a question, and hear the answer in a future episode