How Early Trauma Increases Addiction Risk: What You Should Know & How to Get Help
Nightmares and cravings can create a negative cycle. In addition to substance abusers, the large percentage of new substance abusers will also be suffering from PTSD. As reported by NIA, the National Institute on Drug Abuse, up to half of those individuals who seek treatment for drug use have co-occurring disorders (PTSD and substance use disorder), which in many cases causes an individual to experience a so-called "double whammy" effect. When these two disorders are treated separately, there is a high probability of relapse and/or an increase in negative treatment outcomes, but when both of these disorders are treated together, recovery can occur and more significantly affect the individual long-term.
Many people benefit from reviewing co-occurring disorder resources to better understand how intertwined PTSD and substance use truly are.
Understanding Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and Their Impact on Brain Development
Defining the Spectrum of Early Trauma (ACEs)
Adverse Childhood Experiences encompass a variety of harmful experiences during childhood, from physical and sexual abuse, to neglect (meaning inadequate food or care). Additionally, disruptive elements in a household, such as mental illness in a parent or parents who have divorced, are also considered part of an ACE score.
The ACE study in the 1990s examined a sample of more than 17,000 adults, determining that there is a strong correlation between the number of ACEs reported by an individual and their increased likelihood of developing poor health as an adult. Each point accumulated on the ACE scale increases an individual’s risk of developing problems, such as heart disease and premature death, from the accumulation of previous traumatic experiences further contributing to the decline of overall health. In essence, while a single traumatic event may only cause minor injury and discomfort, the accumulation of multiple trauma experiences causes greater damage and continued dysfunction. There are various types of trauma experienced during childhood; however, all of them negatively impact the physical, psychological, and behavioral development of a child's growth.
Various types of trauma negatively impact a child’s physical, psychological, and behavioral development. Today, trauma-informed treatment providers, including organizations like mental health support programs, help individuals understand how early trauma shapes brain development.
The Self-Medication Hypothesis: Coping Gone Awry
Many people suffering from PTSD turn to either alcohol or opioids as a way of alleviating their distress. Alcohol or opioids provide temporary relief from racing thoughts and unpleasant memories. In such cases, they may feel they are benefiting from using these substances. However, over time the longer they use drugs or alcohol the more difficult it becomes to deal with their PTSD symptoms. Blackouts caused by drug or alcohol use prevent them from addressing their feelings, causing an even deeper addiction cycle. The additive nature of this cycle creates an environment that allows PTSD and other traumatic experiences to continue and precludes the possibility of permanently releasing them from trauma.
Neurobiological Changes: The Stress Response System Overdrive
Long-term stress caused by trauma early in life releases excessive amounts of hormones into the body. Over time, the chronic release of toxic stress hormones damages different parts of the brain involved with regulation and memory. Under chronic stress the prefrontal cortex, which is responsible for decision making, decreases in size; the amygdala, which is responsible for fear, becomes hyperactive and increases the brain's response to threats; and the hippocampus, which plays a role in forming new memories, loses neurons.
Chronic stress also produces dysfunction of the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, which regulates the body's response to stress. The HPA Axis remains in an overstimulated state, making it difficult for the individual to achieve a sense of peace and relaxation from a constant state of vigilance. This increase in the need for an effective way to escape the constant feeling of alertness is the basis of the neurobiological mechanisms associated with addiction, where individuals use substances to find relief from their incessant internal distress and chaos.
The Traumatic Pathway: From Early Stress to Substance Dependence
Dissociation as a Protective Barrier Leading to Substance Abuse
In a traumatic event, one's mind leaves one in order to survive. Dissociation is described as the mind separating from the body, the individual feeling as if they are floating away, and having a shield from anything that may be perceived as horrible. This learned behaviour persists into adulthood. Trauma is highly tied to dissociation, and when emotions become overwhelming, individuals tend to engage in numbing behaviours.
One of these behaviours is the use of substances to numb oneself. Both Opioids & Marijuana provide an escape from reality in the form of a hazy, detached state of being. One study indicates that individuals who have experienced trauma begin to use drugs at an early age to remain "checked out". Without treatment, these patterns lead to deeper addiction. To heal from trauma, you must face what lies beneath the surface and not shy away from it.
Without appropriate support, this coping mechanism evolves into addiction. Resources offering guidance on addiction recovery help individuals understand how dissociation and trauma drive long-term substance use.
Impulsivity, Risk-Taking, and Delayed Gratification
In early childhood, the stress response reduces the ability to think ahead and plan the future. In situations of trauma, children act impulsively without regard for consequence. This impulsivity often predisposes to substance use to an earlier age. Adolescents with trauma may initiate drug experimentation years earlier than do other adolescent populations. The normalizing of risk-taking behaviors results from the unpredictability of their previous environment. Delayed gratification becomes increasingly difficult when the brain is focused on immediate gratification. The image of an adolescent drinking a beer to avoid feeling "bad" at the moment is a typical example. Unfortunately, this impulsivity often continues when an adolescent seeks recovery, leading to relapse. Initial plans to maintain sobriety can easily become derailed due to high levels of temptation. Building and strengthening the skills necessary to plan for and remain sober is possible through the process of therapeutic support one day at a time.
Final Statement: Resiliency and Outlook Will Help Restructure Your Brain to Heal
While experiencing early childhood trauma elevates an individual’s chances of developing an addicted nature it is not a finished deal with respect to their future path. We’ve learned from research that our ACE’s can have significant impacts on the way our brain functions, results in emotional pain that often pushes individuals toward unhealthy ways of coping, and interacts with mental health.
Several complicating factors for recovering from trauma through therapies like Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) and body work have also been added by what happens to us when our caregivers do not give us what we need to emotionally attach to them. Nonetheless, there are various options available today (including trauma-informed therapies) that offer hope for growth and healing.