Trauma is defined as an emotional reaction to an event which causes physical and or psychological harm for the individual. (1)
Trauma is a broad term which encompasses many examples of situations a person could be traumatised by. (1) The traumatic experience that has taken place could be anything that has happened to the individual but what is significant is how a person has perceived the event itself. (2)
Examples of trauma include but not limited to:
- Physical/sexual assault
- Emotional abuse
- Illness/death
- Domestic violence
- Accidents
- Neglect
- Divorce
- Loss
- Relationship breakdown (1) (2)
- Witnessing a tragedy (3)
- Witnessing violence (3)
How a person experiences a traumatic event will dictate their response to it. When feelings associated with the trauma are not processed long-term issues can arise including anxiety, depression, and PTSD (2)
Some people struggle to cope with the trauma they have experienced and may self-medicate with drugs and alcohol in order to sedate/suppress flashbacks, nightmares, negative thoughts, intrusive thoughts, insomnia, and triggers etc. (2)
This maladaptive coping mechanism/dependence provides short-term relief from the experience of the traumatic event but ultimately avoiding the trauma prohibits the person from moving forward and past what has happened. The person is at risk of developing self-destructive patterns of behaviour which whilst numbing the pain will not facilitate recovery. The trauma which is sustained can affect how an individual thinks, feels and behaves, permeating how they think about themselves (self-concept/self-esteem), other people and the world around them. Very often people who have experienced a trauma will have feelings of stress, agitation, anger, anxiety, depression, guilt, fear and shame. (2)
When self-medicating in order to cope with a trauma an addiction can ensue and become another issue for the individual to contend with. The amount of the substance used often increases to have the desired effect and before long the maladaptive coping mechanism no longer works causing more pain. (2)
Substance misuse for some people can feel like the only way to cope and numb the trauma which has occurred if other coping mechanisms are not present. When treating addiction, it is important to understand what is driving the behaviour. Often the substance abuse is the secondary issue and what can be a root cause or underlying issue of the addiction is a traumatic experience which needs to be addressed. (2)
Due to the stress responses of the body and the brain the individual affected by a trauma can re-experience the same neurochemical cascade of the original event. A person can feel the same feelings of panic, terror, and helplessness essentially reliving the emotional and psychological pain (fight/flight/freeze). (2). To avoid those feelings self-medicating becomes a way of coping but this then becomes a vicious cycle leading to dependence and self-destructive patterns of behaviour.
The substance serves a function and a purpose. It is important to understand why the individual needs it. To simply remove the substance will not resolve the issue. To address the addiction and not the underlying root cause is a short-term solution to a more complex problem.(2)
(2) https://roots-recovery.com/the-direct-link-between-trauma-and-addiction/
(3) https://carrierclinic.org/2019/08/06/trauma-and-addiction/
If you need rehab advice contact us via our online chat, by email help@therecoverytrust.co.uk or by phone 03001115577
