To Overcome Addiction, You Must Address Underlying Trauma

To Overcome Addiction, You Must Address Underlying Trauma One of the most widely known addiction treatment groups, Alcoholics Anonymous, famously lists twelve steps the addict must take to overcome their addiction. While these steps include everything from admitting you’re powerlessness over the substances you abuse to seeking out people you’ve wronged in the past to make amends, none of the steps mentions acknowledging or coming to terms with a traumatic experience. Some healthcare professionals take a different perspective on addiction recovery. According to a wide body of research over the past 20 years, experiencing a traumatic event as a child or young adult greatly increases the likelihood of developing an addiction later in life. Addiction recovery means not just addressing how you’ve harmed others, but also looking at the harm that has been done to you. By definition, a traumatic experience puts the individual’s life and physical-well being at risk and renders them incapable of protecting themselves from potential injury or death. Experiencing a natural disaster, a terror attack, and being mugged are all common examples of traumatic experiences. If the trauma is severe enough or occurs over a long period of time, a survivor might develop post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The symptoms of PTSD can be intense and destructive. After getting hit by a car, for example, it’s normal to think twice before crossing the street again. For someone with PTSD, being o...
Source: Cliffside Malibu - Category: Addiction Authors: Tags: Richard Taite Source Type: blogs