Trauma occurring at any stage of life can lead to devastating results, including addiction. Trauma therapy in addiction treatment has become more prevalent over time. Unresolved trauma has proven to be extremely disrupting to normal, everyday functionality in life. When trauma leads to drug and alcohol abuse, these disruptions can be even worse. Receiving care and proper treatment to address unresolved trauma, as well as the addiction to drugs and alcohol, can be the best option to moving forward and healing from the things affecting your day to day life.
Trauma is often thought of as being a result of some sort of physical harm, like a car accident, physical abuse, sexual assault or natural disasters. However, along with these things, there are other things that cause a trauma response. Verbal abuse, emotional neglect, or merely witnessing some sort of violent event can all result in trauma. Now what is trauma? Trauma is a person’s emotional response to some sort of awful event they experience or witness. Naturally, after the event, shock and denial are possible. However there can be some long term reactions like anxiety and flashbacks, can cause a person to have interruptions within their day to day lives. These reactions are the body’s trauma responses to the event that occurred. Oftentimes, dealing with the emotional and physical responses to trauma can lead someone to self medicate.
The connection between trauma and addiction is prevalent in those who suffer with substance abuse. Trauma responses can be uncomfortable and uncontrollable, and often it is seen that people turn to drugs and alcohol as a means of self medicating to alleviate the symptoms they are experiencing. Prolonged use of drugs and alcohol can lead to dependence, or addiction, and make life all the more difficult for the person who has experienced the traumatic event. Using trauma therapy in addiction treatment has become a popular method of treating both addiction and trauma, making recovery from both feasible for people who need to heal.
Understanding the basics of what therapy is can help you to better understand the scope of trauma therapy. Therapy is a form of treatment used to provide a safe and healing environment in which thoughts and feelings can be expressed and processed. A neutral person is there with you, no investment in anything other than helping you to find peace in whatever you are going through.
Trauma therapy is a little bit more complex. It is more in depth to help you understand what caused the trauma and how it impacts your life in order to better process what has happened. Processing the trauma, in a healthy manner, is vital to healing from it. Using trauma therapy in addiction treatment helps to not only treat the results of trauma, but also the addiction that may have begun as a result of the trauma itself.
Trauma therapy should be individualized, based on the recipient’s needs. There is not a standard, one size fits all method that works for everyone. Just like recovery from addiction, everyone recovers differently from trauma. Trauma therapy for addiction treatment is the same way, it needs to cater to the person’s needs and specific disorders as a result of trauma. There are different components that can be a part of trauma therapy in addiction treatment. Some of those include:
Using trauma therapy in addiction treatment allows for both life altering things to be addressed together. The trauma that led to the addiction must be addressed to be able to stay sober. Healing from the trauma will make healing from addiction easier. If trauma has led you to using substances as a means of coping and self medication, healing from said trauma can only help to make the response of using drugs and alcohol less prevalent. Once the trauma and trauma responses are alleviated and have begun to heal, then addressing the drugs and alcohol, and understanding how dangerous and detrimental they can be becomes easier.
Trauma can cause devastating results at any stage of life. When it is not properly processed it can lead to substance abuse problems later down the road. There is treatment available for both trauma and substance abuse. At Louisville Addiction Center, we provide a safe place to begin healing from trauma. We have a team of professionals trained to help you process and heal from trauma and substance abuse. Contact us today and begin your process of recovery.
Hear directly from those who have walked the path to recovery. Our patients’ stories highlight the compassionate care, effective programs, and life-changing support they’ve experienced. Let their journeys inspire you as you take your first steps toward healing.
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