Mental Health Guides: How Trauma Impacts Addiction

The Trauma-Addiction Cycle: Why Healing One Requires Addressing Both.

65% of people in addiction treatment report childhood trauma (SAMHSA). Here’s how trauma rewires the brain—and why dual diagnosis treatment is essential.

Key Sections:

1. The Brain Connection

   • Trauma floods the body with stress hormones, making substances a “quick fix” for numbness.

   • Example:

     

   • PTSD sufferers are 4x more likely to abuse opioids (NIH).

2. Common Trauma Responses Linked to Addiction

   • Hypervigilance → Alcohol to “slow down”

   • Emotional Numbness → Stimulants to “feel alive”

3. Breaking the Cycle

   • Phase 1: Safety & Stabilization (Inpatient care)

   • Phase 2: Trauma Processing (EMDR, somatic therapy)

   • Phase 3: Reconnection (Life skills, community)

Patient Story (Michael Billowgh):
“I drank to forget my abuse—until therapy helped me realize I wasn’t running from the past, but from my fear of the future.”

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