There is a stronger connection between trauma and addiction than there is between obesity and diabetes. There are a lot of people with diabetes who are not obese and obese people who do not have diabetes. Very few people who struggle with addiction, however, have lived lives free from trauma. At Safe Harbor Recovery Center in Portsmouth, Virginia, we provide trauma-informed, evidence-based treatment for addiction.
Trauma is any experience that is so horrifying, painful, or stressful that it overwhelms a person’s ability to cope. Trauma is different for each person who experiences an event, but it is very common. What is traumatic for one person may be only mildly upsetting for another person who has more coping skills, better supports in place, and more ability to control their own situation. For this reason, children are more prone to find difficult events traumatic.
Groups Likely to Have High Levels of Trauma
Some people are at higher risk for experiencing multiple traumatic events because they are part of a certain group:
- People whose parents experienced a lot of trauma
- Racial minorities
- People who don’t have a lot of education
- LGBT people
- Women
Understanding ACEs
When a person experiences difficult and potentially traumatic events before the age of 18, these unpleasant encounters are called Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs). Some examples of ACEs include:
- Abuse such as physical, sexual, or verbal
- Physical or emotional neglect
- Living with a caregiver who is struggling with a mental illness or addiction
- Having a parent who is imprisoned
- Witnessing domestic violence
- Losing a parent because of separation, divorce, foster care placement, or death
A study of ACEs found that people who experienced four or more ACEs were more likely to develop medical, mental health, and substance use disorders later in life. ACEs were especially correlated with depression, and place people at especially high risk for:
- Taking drugs
- Using drugs from a younger age
- Using more types of drugs
- Injecting illegal drugs
- Misusing prescription pain medicine
- Experiencing more severe addiction
- Suicide attempts
Not only can depression lead to substance use and addiction, but substance use, and addiction often make depression worse, creating a continuous loop that is hard to escape.
If you would like to know what your ACEs score is, you can take an online assessment. This can help you to understand what events you have experienced that may have created childhood trauma.
ACEs Versus PTSD
Just because a person experiences ACEs does not mean that they were traumatized. Only the person themselves can decide if something was traumatic for them. Even if they were traumatized, it does not mean they developed Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). PTSD is a psychiatric diagnosis that can only be made by a trained professional.
Signs that a person could have PTSD include a range of symptoms. These include having nightmares/flashbacks, avoiding people, places, or thoughts associated with the event, being hypervigilant or jumpy, and feeling guilty or blaming themselves for what happened.
Countering ACEs
Experiencing painful and difficult things in childhood and adolescence does not automatically mean that a person will develop PTSD or a substance use disorder in adulthood. A person’s ability to “bounce back” from challenges, sometimes called resiliency, is a powerful tool in managing potentially traumatic events. Some people are naturally more resilient than others, but there are ways that people can increase their resiliency and coping skills:
- Participating in therapy
- Having a strong support system, with one or more caring adults
- Being protected from additional ACEs
- Exercising cognitive flexibility
- Being optimistic
- Taking care of one’s physical well-being
- Having a strong, personal moral compass
Understanding trauma highlights the need for professionals—like medical providers, therapists, teachers, and even service workers at gyms and salons—to avoid causing additional harm through their interactions. Trauma-informed practices prioritize:
- Involving individuals in planning and treatment
- Ensuring environments are safe and welcoming
- Screening for trauma and referring to mental health support as needed
- Informing individuals of their rights and seeking consent for physical contact, explaining the process beforehand
At Safe Harbor Recovery Center, we take a trauma-informed approach to treating addiction. Our staff is trained to work with people who have experienced trauma, and we offer mental health services for patients who are being treated for addiction, to help them manage co-occurring mental health disorders, which are common among people who have experienced addiction.