And also remember that humans are emotionally “contagious”; we sense the distress of others. Imagine a child in a home with a frustrated, angry father who has no job prospects, is disrespected in the community due to his status or skin color, and comes home feeling impotent, defeated. This parent’s internal storm becomes the home’s storm. His chaos becomes the home’s chaos. He may use alcohol or a drug to manage his distress. But a drug-using parent, a drunk, overwhelmed, frustrated parent is going to create a climate of fear for their children. As much as they may want to protect the children
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