Trauma and Substance Use

Most people experience some type of trauma during their lifetime. When those events happen, your brain processes them, works through them, and you move on. For a person with post-traumatic stress disorder, that trauma does not heal, and instead becomes stuck in their mind, often being linked to certain locations, sounds, smells, or people. This is debilitating, which is why some people turn to substance use to find a calming for their mind.

Trauma and substance use disorders are treatable. With proper care, it is possible for individuals to work through treatment, break the link between the traumatic experience and current life, and overcome substance use disorders (SUDs). For that to happen, you need treatment in a professional environment through an individualized treatment plan.

Mental Health Hope can provide you with this type of treatment and support, providing you with the specific type and level of care you need.

The Connection Between Trauma and Addiction

Trauma is any type of serious event or series of circumstances that creates a lasting, negative effect on a person’s mental, emotional, social, physical, or spiritual well-being. There are various types of trauma often associated with the onset of addiction, including experiencing:

Physical assault
Rape
Sexual assault
Domestic violence
Natural disasters
Wartime or military-related events
Emotional or verbal abuse over a period of time
Parental neglect
Bullying or ongoing harassment
Terminal illness in yourself or a close person
Accidents, including car accidents, fires, or other life-threatening events

Surviving the traumatic experience may mean living physically through it. However, without care and support, your brain cannot properly function, and that leads to the onset of long-term complications and PTSD. You may be experiencing trauma damage like this if you have symptoms such as:

Dramatic mood shifts
Ongoing fear that may seem irrational to others
Excessive or inappropriate displays or intense emotions
Erratic behavior
Lack of confidence
Eating disorder development
Agitation and irritability
Ongoing ear, anxiety, and worry
Seeing or reliving the traumatic event in your mind

These symptoms are debilitating, so much so that people often turn to a substance for relief. Those substances can create their own difficulties for you, including leading to addiction.

A person who experiences traumatic events that are not properly processed in the brain is at a very high risk of developing an addiction to drugs and alcohol.

Why Addiction and Trauma Are Linked

There are various reasons why a person with a traumatic history often faces the onset of substance use disorder. One of the most common reasons is self-medicating. The substance can stop the thoughts, calm the mind, and offer some relief from the intense traumatic experiences being relived in the mind. This is a short-term solution, providing a break for only a matter of hours. To continue to feel that relief, a person may continuously seek out those substances and, over time, develop addiction.

In other situations, the substance may act as a type of avoidance strategy. Using the substance means not dealing with the past pain and trauma. It becomes its own problem, over time, though.

How are Trauma and Substance Use Disorders Treated?

Trauma and substance use can occur at the same time, creating what is known as co-occurring disorders. For treatment to occur and be effective, both conditions must be treated at the same time. Treatment of one without the other leads to limitations.

This can be done in several ways. First, consider where you can get help:

Inpatient, acute care: Typically for the most intense cases, where medical detox and mental health stability are the goals, often for a few days to up to a week
Residential treatment programs: Providing longer-term care to work on mental health and SUDs at the same time, often for 30 or more days
Mental health retreats: Very specific programs designed to address your unique needs in a private location for a period of several weeks
Outpatient treatment: For milder cases, outpatient care, including partial hospitalization programs and intensive outpatient care, may be beneficial

Treatment within each of these programs is designed to meet your individual needs. Your treatment plan may include various types of therapy, including:

Cognitive behavioral health helps learn how to control negative thoughts, which can lead to poor decision-making and behaviors
EMDR, a type of therapy, is often beneficial to those with PTSD to break the link between the traumatic event and their current life
Group therapy, where you will work closely with a specialist and a group of people to learn strategies for managing addiction and trauma effectively

Treatment is always individualized for your needs. That allows you to receive the best possible outcome.