{"id":17246,"date":"2018-08-30T11:06:05","date_gmt":"2018-08-30T04:06:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kembalirehab.com\/?p=17246"},"modified":"2025-03-24T11:27:56","modified_gmt":"2025-03-24T11:27:56","slug":"the-link-between-childhood-trauma-and-addiction","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/amatesting.uk\/kembali\/the-link-between-childhood-trauma-and-addiction\/","title":{"rendered":"The Link Between Childhood Trauma and Addiction"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Most addicts have experienced some form of childhood trauma. In fact, most children, both addicts and non-addicts alike, have been exposed to at least one traumatic event in their lifetime. As addicts, however, we tend to have experienced more sustained incidents of trauma in our lifetime, more severe trauma, or we simply process trauma differently than non-addicts for whatever reason \u2013\u00a0it will vary from addict to addict. Keep in mind that degrees of severity are matters of perspective and levels of resiliency vary, regardless of the degree of trauma. Renowned addiction expert,\u00a0Gabor Mat\u00e9<\/a>, describes what happens inside of us when traumatic events occur as \u201ca loss of connection to oneself and to the present moment.\u201d So no matter what the traumatic incident is that occurs, if it causes a child to feel disconnected, anxious, or unsafe, it should never be taken lightly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Please also note that no one is suggesting adults aren\u2019t affected and deeply scarred from trauma that occurs later in life, too. Children just happen to be more vulnerable to long-term damage that results from trauma, particularly if it\u2019s experienced repeatedly. This is because\u00a0from birth until age 6<\/a>, if the primary needs of a child are unmet or perceived to be unmet, either physically, emotionally, environmentally, or psychologically, the child is experiencing trauma in that moment. That being said, no traumatic experience should ever go neglected, regardless of whether it occurred in childhood or later in life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/span>The Causal Connection Between Trauma and Addiction<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Now let\u2019s look at the causal connection between trauma and addiction. If a child experiences continuous\u00a0physiological stress during brain development<\/a>, that stress can cause structural disruptions to the brain as observed in neurological scans. These disruptions make victims of repeated childhood trauma much more susceptible to addiction than the average child. Children who\u2019ve experienced trauma, particularly when it\u2019s sustained, tend to show an increased desire to escape. Later in life, this desire to escape can often lead to substance abuse and, ultimately, addiction to things like drugs and alcohol. This is a way of self-medicating in order to escape the negative and sometimes shameful feelings associated with traumatic events.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There\u2019s also a link between childhood trauma and behavioral compulsions, like compulsive eating, gambling, or compulsive sexual behavior (sex addiction<\/a>). When a child is sexually abused, for example, sexual arousal is activated prematurely and it can also draw early connections in the brain\u2019s neural network associating sex with shame, fear, power, confusion, and secrecy. This, in turn, can prevent children from developing healthy sexual patterns in adulthood, predisposing them to things like sexual anorexia, dysfunction, or compulsion, among other things.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/span>Understanding Different Types of Trauma<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Understanding the specific types of trauma that occur during developmental years is a critical component to understanding why the issues need to be addressed in therapy and counseling later in life. This understanding can help specialists address the behavioral patterning that develops as children mature, and later into adulthood.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Children can\u2019t usually discern trauma. Not only do they have an unconscious need to feel like everything is ok, but often, the trauma is being directly inflicted by a loved one or caregiver and as children, we\u2019re taught to trust these people.  As trauma survivors, however, once we can stop denying that the trauma occurred in the first place, we can begin the process of identifying the nature of the trauma by asking ourselves questions:<\/p>\n\n\n\n