Sadly, there is a proven connection between addiction and childhood trauma. The traumatic events experienced in your childhood can and often do follow you into adulthood and create a series of mental health issues that may also cause you to self-medicate through excessive drinking or drug use. If you or someone you love is struggling with addiction, childhood trauma could be at the root of it all. Contact Midwest Recovery online or call us at 833.627.0039 today to learn how our trauma therapy program may help heal and recover.
A Connection Between Addiction and Childhood Trauma
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) reports that more than one-third of adolescents who have reported cases of abuse or neglect will have a substance use disorder before they reach adulthood at the age of 18. Millions of Americans suffer from some level of PTSD, that’s roughly 7 to 8 percent of the population, and 55 to 60 percent of all post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) victims end up developing some form of chemical dependency, an assertion backed up by the American Psychological Association. At our Midwest trauma center, we are experts in childhood trauma recovery and are ready to help you or your loved one recover from both the trauma endured in childhood and the substance use disorders of the present day.
What Is Trauma?
Trauma is defined as an adverse emotional reaction to a standalone event or a series of events that caused and is still causing severe physical or psychological harm. One of the characteristics of trauma is a person’s inability to safely move beyond the event(s) and process the experience without reliving it and experiencing the pain and harm from it over and over again. Addiction from childhood trauma is prevalent because, in part, victims of trauma will often develop serious mental health disorders for which they will turn to drugs and alcohol to cope and make it through daily life.
Childhood trauma is events that happen to a young child or an individual’s childhood that were dangerous, life-threatening, and/or scary. At our midwest trauma center, we understand that the individual does not easily forget, and this childhood trauma continues to negatively impact a person into adulthood.
The most common types of childhood trauma requiring childhood trauma recovery include:
- Rape or sexual assault
- Physical assault
- Extreme verbal and emotional abuse
- Bullying and repeated harassment
- Accidents such as car crashes or fire
- Parental neglect
While these are the most common, childhood trauma can come from anywhere and manifest in various physical and psychological symptoms.
How Does Childhood Trauma Affect Adulthood?
People who have experienced childhood trauma have a greater inclination to become reliant on alcohol, drugs, and prescription medications. Additionally, addiction and childhood trauma may also create behavioral disorders like compulsive eating and risky sexual activity. Childhood trauma recovery can help you overcome the pain of the past to live happier in the present and see a brighter future ahead.
For youngsters, traumatic experiences may be substantially less so for adults, which means the enduring impact of trauma can be massive on children who do not have the context or coping mechanisms for such pain. If you are turning to substances as a way of moving past your childhood trauma, you may feel lost and alone, reliving painful memories of abuse or neglect. But childhood trauma recovery is possible with professional care by experts in addiction and childhood trauma.
Learn More at Midwest Recovery
Learn how drug rehab in Ohio at Midwest Recovery can be the starting point for reshaping the rest of your life after childhood trauma. Contact us using our secure online form or call us confidentially at 833.627.0039 today to discover the help available in our midwest trauma center.
