If closeness in relationships has always felt complicated, if you want connection but find yourself sabotaging it, or if you keep ending up with partners who are emotionally unavailable, there is a pattern worth understanding. Adults who grew up with an alcoholic parent often develop a specific set of relationship difficulties rooted in what closeness meant in their family of origin. This article, written from a clinical perspective informed by Gottman Method research, explains those patterns and what recovery looks like in adult relationships.