Trauma and Substance Abuse: Here’s How the Two Are Correlated

Trauma and substance abuse often go hand in hand. Where one happens, you can usually expect the other not to be too far behind. There have been numerous studies that have conclusively established this.

There are Utah residential treatment centers where you can spend some time if you feel your substance abuse has gotten out of control. Before you seek one of them out, though, you should have a better understanding of the connection between trauma and substance abuse. We will discuss it in detail right now. 

Trauma is Stressful

Trauma is any event that causes stress in your life. Something like a violent car wreck is a traumatic experience. Being the victim of a violent crime is traumatic. Being a soldier in a war is traumatic, and so is being in an abusive relationship with a family member, partner, or spouse.

You can probably think of many other trauma examples without too much trouble. The world is full of events and situations that can potentially traumatize you. 

The point is that when you experience trauma, it can be hard for you to deal with it in a healthy way. This is often how drugs and alcohol begin to make their way into your life. 

You Need a Way to Alleviate that Stress

Even if you are no longer actively in the situation that caused you to have feelings of trauma, the effects remain long after the events themselves. These feelings are like psychological scars. 

You may even have physical scars from the trauma that you endured as well, and seeing those when you look in the mirror every day can be tremendously difficult. 

This causes you to have ongoing stress related to your trauma. When you feel that stress, you need to cope with it in some way. If you’re lucky, you can find a healthy way to alleviate these feelings or keep them at bay. Many people resort to drug and alcohol use in these moments, though. 

It’s Possible to Keep Reliving Trauma Over and Over

The traumatic event or events that scarred you may be in the past, but you might dream about them at night. Perhaps you keep turning them over and over in your mind, even if you want more than anything to think about something else. 

If you’re unable to get out of this vicious cycle, then you’re in pain, and you have to dull those feelings somehow. Drugs and alcohol can help you forget what happened for a time. Even if you can still remember, it may not seem as bad or important when you’re intoxicated. If you are very badly scarred by whatever traumatic events occurred in your life, getting habitually or even constantly intoxicated might seem like the only productive thing you can do.

Only by seeking treatment can you hope to break this cycle unless you have uncommon willpower. Remember that there’s no shame in getting help. That is far more courageous than burying your emotions with alcohol or drugs.