trauma and addiction

Trauma and Addiction

There is an indelible link between emotional trauma and addiction to drugs or alcohol. Scarring experiences, even those that have been relegated to an individual’s subconscious memory, continue to influence their daily behaviors and choices for months, years, or even decades after the dust has settled. To achieve lasting sobriety, clients must be offered guidance…

a woman debates getting EMDR therapy for trauma

How EMDR Therapy Can Heal Past Traumas

If you are struggling due to a traumatic experience, or injury, it can lead to serious problems with your daily life. Some trauma triggers include loss, natural disasters, invasive surgeries, or being a victim of violence. It can take years to recover from events like these, and trauma can rewire your brain to cause anxiety,…

The Link Between PTSD and Addiction

While Pysciatry.org indicates that “one in 11 people will be diagnosed with PTSD in their lifetime,” it is important to remember that such numbers, as high as they are, fail to take into account undiagnosed PTSD cases. There is an untold percentage of sufferers who have never seen a doctor, never gotten help, and perhaps attempt to “self-medicate” as a way to cope with the pain.

Anxiety, Depression and Addiction

Substance abuse can sometimes be an attempt to self-medicate an issue such as anxiety or depression. Often, they occur so closely together it is hard to distinguish which came first. Like the chicken or the egg, did the substance abuse cause anxiety or depression or did the depression and anxiety lead to substance abuse?

Children Who Suffer Trauma, and Addiction as Adults

The impacts of trauma during childhood often linger on into adulthood and can lead to the development of psychological problems and/or addictions. Indeed, research has established such a firm link between childhood trauma and substance abuse that some treatment facilities now offer concurrent treatment of addiction and any underlying trauma.