WHAT IS THE HERO ROLE?

The Hero Role is a personality type that people often adopt when a family member is struggling with addiction. Specifically, the “hero” identity is the child that channels their inner turmoil into positive academic performance or athletic success in order to gain control of their life.

While visibly successful from the outside, these pursuits are used as a distraction to help repress feelings of anger and pain; it is a mechanism used to get through their day. Unfortunately, this can lead to kids losing their emotions, sense of empathy, and slowly makes them grow numb throughout life. They will often push people away and lose their sensitivity as a result.