Trauma And Addiction
Embarking on a trauma recovery journey means reaching out for expert guidance, acknowledging your symptoms, and embracing the healing power of support from those who care about you.
Unfortunately, trauma can leave real scars behind. Some of those wounds you can see with your eyes, but others you feel deep in your heart.
If you’ve experienced trauma, you’re not alone. If you’re not sure how to deal with the pain, you’re also in good company.
Research can help you both understand your past and your path forward. This article can help. We’ll cover:
- The formal definition of trauma.
- Psychological trauma.
- Childhood trauma.
- Physical trauma.
- Addiction’s link to trauma.
- Treatment options.
- Prevention techniques.
- Official responses.
Put plainly, trauma is a response. Something horrible happens, and your brain and body react to that event.
Events that spark trauma are common. An estimated 70 percent of American adults have lived through at least one traumatic event at some point in life. But it’s the response to those events that really matters.
Trauma is subjective. Two people could go through the very same thing, and one could be traumatized, while the other emerges unscathed. Your history, your current mental state, your outlook, and your personality all play a role in helping you to process something disturbing. When those factors combine in the right way, damage can take hold.
We often think of a trauma trigger as something severe, like a rape or an attempted assault. But even small, subtle things can have a huge impact. A fender bender, a fierce verbal argument, or a mild dog bite could be enough to push you over the edge.
Resilience can also vary from person to person. While some can bounce back from trauma relatively quickly even without any help, others struggle for months or even years after the event. That’s rare, as research suggests that less than 2 percent of people who live through trauma develop classic post-traumatic stress syndrome (PTSD), which involves persistent stress. But it can happen.
The risk of harm and your recovery rate can also vary depending on the type of trauma you endure.
Psychological Trauma: An Injury to Your Core
Psychological trauma is often sparked by events that are overwhelming or life-threating, such as:
- Kidnapping.
- Wartime combat.
- Terrorist attacks.
- Armed robbery.
Research suggests that psychological trauma is more likely if the event is:
- Caused by a person (not nature).
- Ongoing (rather than a one-time issue).
- Unpredictable (rather than scheduled).
- Deliberate (rather than accidental or impulsive).
- Inflicted on a child.
- Initiated by an adult or a caregiver.
While the event is unfolding, the mind is overwhelmed with sensation and emotion. Brain cells can’t store the memory properly. That can make you feel as though you’re still trapped in that terrifying moment, even if it’s weeks or months later.
Some people with psychological trauma endure a form of disassociation. Their brain cells are still processing the event, and it hasn’t been pushed into memory. As a result, they may deny that anything bad happened. They simply cannot remember the details due to the damage the trauma caused.
This is especially common in people who endure the next type of trauma we’re about to discuss.
Childhood Trauma: An Injury to Your Innocence
When we think of childhood abuse, we often think of sexual assault. An estimated 42 million adults are survivors of such crimes. In most cases, they’re perpetrated by someone the child knows, trusts, and loves. The damage is significant.
But children can also endure a different, but just as damaging, type of abuse. Of the 7.5 million children who live through child abuse, 74.9 percent are neglected, says the American Society for the Positive Care of Children. That means these children may have no food, no medical care, and no housing support. They are raising themselves, and that can be remarkably damaging.
Abuse that takes place during childhood lingers. Research suggests that adult survivors of childhood trauma are 5,000 percent more likely to use drugs, develop eating disorders, or attempt suicide.
Clearly, children can’t outgrow some memories. They stick, and when they do, these children become adults who may take drastic steps to make themselves feel better — sometimes with catastrophic consequences.
Physical Trauma: An Injury to Your Body
When medical professionals discuss physical trauma, they talk about:
- Concussions or other head injuries.
- Deep cuts.
- Broken bones.
- Penetrating wounds.
But when survivors talk about physical trauma, they might mention:
- Nightmares. They may relive the same event every night.
- Avoidance. They may steer clear of places that remind them of the event.
- Loneliness. They may be unable to describe their concerns to others even though they want to.
- Anger. They may think about life before the injury and feel dismayed that they’re not as healthy as they once were.
Doctors may treat physical trauma with surgeries, wound cleaning, medications, and nutrition. But the emotional impact of that injury can be untouched even though it causes extreme distress.
Rape survivors know emotional trauma can persist. In a study, researchers found that rape survivors have a higher risk of:
- Depression or persistent sadness.
- Anxiety or general disease.
- Poor sleep.
While their bodies have healed, their minds have not.
Trauma’s Link to Addiction
Experts point out that trauma causes a lack of emotional regulation. You feel stressed when you should be relaxed, or you seem tearful for no reason at all. Substance abuse gives the perception of control. When you feel low, you can take something to lift you up. When you feel anxious, you can take something to slow you down.
Unfortunately, substances also alter brain chemistry in lasting ways, and those changes make emotional control even more elusive. You may be unable to feel joy without drugs, and you may feel muted almost all the time.
Many people know that substance abuse doesn’t help to heal trauma. And yet, it’s a common solution people try.
For example, researchers suggest that adult survivors of childhood abuse are 1.5 times more likely to use illicit drugs when compared to adults without that history.
There is a better — and proven — way to move past trauma. It involves therapy.
Treatment Helps You Overcome
Your trauma treatment program might include one or several types of therapy, such as:
- Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). You identify the situations and feelings that remind you of your trauma, and you work with your therapist on skills to help you plan for and cope with these events, so you can deal with them effectively.
- Exposure therapy. You’re reintroduced to a thing or a situation that reminds you of your trauma, and you gain control of the thoughts and feelings attached to the memory.
- Cognitive processing therapy. This treatment is often used for survivors of sexual trauma. You work with a therapist to change the way you think about what happened, so your stress symptoms can fade.
- Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (neuro-science). You discuss your trauma while you focus on a moving light, a shifting noise, or a hand tap. Researchers suggest that your eye movements in combination with your speech help to reduce trauma symptoms.
Your doctor may also use medications to help you to sleep better, feel less depressed, or endure less anxiety. Not all doctors use prescriptions, but some feel they’re helpful.
Trauma recovery can be lengthy. Experts say that some people recover within about six months of the event, but some people need even longer to heal fully.
Treatment is effective, but there are some people with symptoms that persist despite treatment. For example, researchers found that two-thirds of veterans who complete therapy retain their trauma symptoms.
Don’t get discouraged. While the event may have been over quickly, your brain and body might need time to work through the damage. Your treatment plan may change a few times until you find a combination that’s right for you. Your doctor can help you move forward.
Can Prevention Help?
Researchers say that a short course of CBT treatment, delivered right after the trauma, can help to prevent serious symptoms from forming.
The key, they say, is to talk about what happened in detail with someone who can help you learn to cope. When you have new skills at your disposal, you won’t be tempted to lean on solutions like alcohol that simply don’t work.
While it’s common for people to feel a little sad or jumpy after a traumatic event, serious symptoms deserve a strong response. Signs of danger include:
- Crying often.
- Foggy thoughts.
- Nightmares or poor sleep.
- Nervousness.
- Racing heart.
- Headaches.
Your risk of developing these issues is higher, experts say, if you:
- Have a pre-existing mental health issue.
- Have experienced another form of trauma in the past.
- Are under stress.
- Have few close friends or family members to count on.
If you recognize someone you love or yourself in these lists, it’s vital to get help quickly.
Officials Are Fighting Too
Consider the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. Officials there know that wartime experiences can lead to trauma symptoms. They also know that it’s hard for some soldiers to get better even if they’re discharged for their distress.
That’s why the VA is conducting a great deal of research on trauma-informed therapies. That work is well funded. In 2013, for example, $100 million was set aside to support research on trauma therapy and brain injury.
Research done in the military can trickle out to civilians, and it can help doctors understand what solutions work and what should be skipped.
Meanwhile, law enforcement agencies are looking for ways to reduce the amount of violent crime that can result in trauma. Those efforts are paying off.
The rate of violent crime in the United States fell 49 percent between 1993 and 2017. That means fewer rapes, murders, and abductions. If that work continues, trauma rates should also fall.
Recovery Is Always Personal
The key is to reach out for help when you need it. When it comes to trauma, you can rarely recover alone.
You’ll need the help of your friends, your family, and a therapist to get there. With this team effort, you will improve in time.
Dr. Alam is an internationally renowned psychiatrist with academic affiliations with Northwestern University and University of Illinois, Chicago where he completed his residency training. He has been a principal investigator for over forty studies and has been involved in research leading to the approval of most psychiatric medications currently on the market. He is the founder of the Neuroscience Research Institute which continues to conduct research on cutting edge medication and interventional psychiatry. Dr. Alam is a Distinguished Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association and the American Society of Addiction Medicine. He has won several awards and has been featured extensively on radio and television.
