Sometimes in addiction treatment, just getting free from using drugs or alcohol can hijack all our attention. I cannot stress enough how important it is to recognize trauma’s role when we talk about addiction treatment and recovery. The article “The Link Between Trauma and Addiction” by the Maryland Addiction Recovery Center made this point so well. I want to follow up from a trauma-informed care perspective.
There is always a reason someone is using. When a pattern of addiction behavior has taken hold, it is not because it’s fun or feels good. People use because they are trying to maintain a sense of feeling “normal,” to feel less badly, or to feel less of anything at all.
What kind of trauma are we talking about? MARC said it perfectly; “trauma can be different for everyone.” Indeed, trauma is in the eye of the perceiver.
What is Trauma?
Trauma happens when something overwhelms and threatens a person’s sense of safety or ability to cope. One person’s forgettable incident may be another person’s haunting memory. For some, it could be their parents’ divorce. It could be getting lost in the grocery store. It could be having a childhood illness, or being in the hospital. It may be witnessing violence, or the suffering of a family member. It may happen with an abusive, absent or addicted parent, or silent emotional distance from a primary caregiver.
Trauma can actually be any event! What matters is that the person perceived trauma in his or her life. We need to recognize its impact on a person’s mental health and its certain role in addiction.
Often people who develop addiction don’t see themselves as trauma survivors. I want to encourage more people — therapists and families and people struggling with addiction — to see addiction recovery through a trauma-informed lens.
What It Means to Be Trauma-Informed
Becoming trauma-informed means learning about the impact of overwhelming, toxic stress on every part of the trauma survivor’s life. As a therapist, providing trauma-informed care means being aware that for people that are using addiction behavior, a history of trauma is nearly always part of their experience.
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