Trauma and Substance Abuse
When we think of celebrations, holidays, and special events, what is it that comes to mind? Is it family and friends? Fun and games? Good food and conversation? There are plenty of elements that make up each different occasion, yet one common denominator seems to be alcohol consumption.
Given the propensity in our culture, more and more opportunities arise to indulge in alcoholic substances outside of what a person would normally consume. This could be consuming more than normal, in environments you wouldn’t regularly drink in, or with people you wouldn’t usually drink with.
There is nothing inherently wrong with alcohol and using it to add to the fun you’re having every once in a while, or to celebrate something – this doesn’t inherently put alcohol in a position where it's being abused or seen as necessary to feel “right” – it’s completely fine to have a casual drink just for fun. The importance of distinction comes when alcohol takes the center stage with or without your permission. This can look like:
You or someone you love needing alcohol to have fun
Feeling like you can’t celebrate unless you feel the “buzz” or other effects of the alcohol
Feeling powerless to stop drinking once you start
Needing alcohol to feel normal and get through the day
Taking advantage of any excuse to use alcohol to an extreme
Drinking due to something you’re struggling with
This is when it becomes a problem.
Alcohol isn’t an answer to anything, nor does it offer any lasting solution to someone affected by trauma, but it’s oftentimes used as a coping method and a means to avoid feelings that seem unmanageable otherwise. When combined with trauma or other struggles, celebrations such as St. Patrick’s Day and other alcohol-heavy holidays can be challenging for those struggling with alcohol abuse and can even trigger those in recovery.
These holidays aren’t going anywhere, though, and they can be important times for people using substances to avoid their feelings to accept that they aren’t addressing the root cause of the substance abuse that these holidays can exacerbate, only prolonging the effects of it.
By utilizing different means of therapy to tackle trauma at the source and work through it using healthy, professional mechanisms, it’s possible to break free of substance abuse due to trauma!
Most Common Causes of Alcohol Abuse
There are some people who are at a higher risk of developing substance abuse disorders, with those affected by trauma making the list. This might be information that comes too late, if alcohol already has a big presence in your life, but identifying probable causes and specifics of why alcohol has become a problem for you is the first step in finding relief.
Alcoholism and other substance abuse disorders runs through some families – substance abuse and the risk that you have for developing it can’t be contributed to any one gene or genetic factor at the present, but studies have been conducted that are showing an increasing link between groups of genes, and there has been a highly reproducible link between the risk of developing a substance abuse disorder if someone in your family has been diagnosed with one vs if no one has.
Trauma and PTSD have been very large contributors to developing substance abuse disorder, specifically alcohol use. It’s depicted in the media and you may have seen it happen in real life – something bad happens and a victim or a survivor turns to alcohol in an attempt to make their problems more manageable or avoid them altogether. Trauma doesn’t go away with alcohol, though, and the higher your tolerance for it is, the more dangerous using alcohol as a coping mechanism is for your health and safety.
Mental health disorders such as anxiety, depression, bipolar disorder, ADHD, borderline personality disorder, and antisocial personality disorder lead to a high risk of alcoholism – 1 in 4 people who have been diagnosed with a serious mental illness have also been diagnosed with a substance abuse disorder, as well.
As seen with PTSD, high-stress jobs, life events, or situations can cause people to turn to alcohol for help coping. In addition to stress causing alcoholism, however, this is a particularly detrimental cycle as long-term, heavy drinking can, in turn, alter the brain’s chemistry and prompt the release of higher amounts of cortisol and adrenocorticotropic hormone, which impacts the way the body perceives stress and how it responds to it. So, stress can cause someone to drink, and drinking can increase the drinker’s level of stress while decreasing their tolerance to it.
With family history already being a factor, it might come as no surprise that the environmental factors surrounding someone has a large effect on alcohol use. If you’re exposed to heavy drinking, if alcohol is readily available where fresh water is not, if your peers and friends begin drinking at a young age due to culture or their own family environment – these are all environmental factors that can cause the abuse of alcohol and heavy drinking.
Trauma, Substance Abuse, and How Dawn Pendleton Can Help
Trauma can develop from any of these causes in addition to several others that weren’t listed, and it feeds into the cycle of substance abuse that is difficult to escape from when the trauma isn’t addressed properly and you don’t allow yourself to heal.
It can be difficult to juggle trauma and a substance abuse disorder, but it’s not impossible. Dawn Pendleton, EMDR-certified trauma therapist, has a specialty dealing with trauma in individuals and has a variety of methods to identify and focus on the root of your trauma, so that you can identify what’s causing your brain to falter as it tries to heal.
EMDR addresses traumatic history head-on and allows you to heal from its effects, especially in situations dealing with those using substances in order to cope. By facilitating the natural healing process of the brain, EMDR can provide secondary benefits regarding substance use; healing from trauma allows for a clearer, more focused path to discontinuing alcohol use because you won’t “need” the alcohol to cope with or avoid your pain.
If you believe you have a problem with substance use as a result of trauma, call Dawn to schedule an appointment and get down to the root of your issue.
If you or someone you love is looking for a reliable, trustworthy counselor with specialties in the LGBTQIA+ community, sports and performance enhancement, and those affected by trauma, Dawn Pendleton of Pendleton Counseling Collaborative, EMDR-certified and Licensed Marriage and Family therapist, is currently accepting new clients. With over 20 years of experience working in both the public and private sectors of the mental health field, Dawn is licensed to provide in-person and telehealth services in both Kentucky and Indiana. Feel free to fill out an inquiry form with any additional questions, call (502) 377-1690, or visit her website to book an appointment.