PTSD, Trauma, and Addiction Treatment

PTSD happens after an individual goes through a traumatic event. Many people experience some sort of trauma during their lives, but not everyone develops PTSD. It’s normal to have stress reactions to traumatic events, but if the stress reaction lasts longer than one month or affects a person’s ability to participate in normal activities, it might be PTSD.

It’s difficult to categorize what makes an event traumatic; something that impacts one person negatively may not affect the next person in the same way. However, some examples of common traumatic events are:

• Assault, sexual or physical
• Abuse
• Accidents
• Death of loved ones
• Health Problems
• Negative childbirth experiences
• War and torture

The connection between trauma and substance use disorders is well-established, with many people using drugs or alcohol as self-medication for trauma-related symptoms they may not fully understand.[2] This pattern creates co-occurring disorders that require specialized trauma-informed care from behavioral health providers who understand how past trauma influences current substance misuse patterns.

Many people who experience traumatic events turn to alcohol, opioids, or other substances as a coping mechanism to numb overwhelming emotions, intrusive traumatic memories, or physical symptoms related to past trauma. This self-medication approach may provide temporary relief from PTSD symptoms like flashbacks, hypervigilance, or emotional pain. However, addiction can develop as the brain becomes dependent on these substances to function, creating additional mental health problems and increasing vulnerability to further traumatic experiences.

The relationship between trauma and addiction can also be strong among those with adverse childhood experiences, where early exposure to abuse, neglect, or household dysfunction significantly increases risk factors for both mental illness and substance misuse later in life.[3] Childhood trauma disrupts normal brain development and impacts how people learn to cope with stress, often leading to drug abuse or alcohol dependency as maladaptive coping mechanisms.

Certain people are more likely to develop PTSD after experiencing or witnessing a traumatic event. According to PTSD UK, women are twice as likely to develop PTSD as men after experiencing a traumatic event.[4] Children and those with pre-existing mental illnesses or impairments are also more at risk for developing PTSD. However, anyone can develop PTSD after a traumatic event, especially if the event is prolonged or ongoing.

There are four types of symptoms for PTSD. To be diagnosed with PTSD, a person needs to experience all four kinds of symptoms.

Re-experiencing: Re-experiencing is an extremely common symptom of PTSD. It can happen through nightmares or flashbacks (explained below). It can also be triggered by specific sounds or sensations.
Flashbacks: When a person goes through a traumatic experience, he or she is often unable to process the incident as humans normally process daily life. This means that the event is not coded in the brain in the same way other memories are, which allows for the possibility of flashbacks. In a flashback, the event feels like it is happening in the present. A person experiencing a flashback might see, hear, feel, or smell the same things they did in that moment because the brain has not processed it into long-term memory.
Changes in Mood or Thoughts: PTSD can bring about changes in one’s moods or thoughts. Paranoia is common for those experiencing PTSD, or the general feeling that the world is dangerous. Those experiencing PTSD might feel numb or detached, guilty, ashamed, isolated, and/or depressed. While everyone has minor bouts of feelings like these, in PTSD, these thoughts and moods are ongoing and intrusive.
Avoidance: When a person experiences PTSD, they might try to avoid specific places, events, people, or other sensations that remind them of the event. For example, if you were in a car accident, you might try to avoid driving after the accident. However, avoidance isn’t always contained to one trigger; a person might just try to keep themselves busy to avoid talking or thinking about the event.
Hyperarousal: Hyperarousal is the final symptom of PTSD. This is when a person always feels anxious or on edge. This general anxiety can lead to trouble sleeping or concentrating, as one is always mentally preparing for danger. It can also lead to increased irritability or the willingness to engage in risky or dangerous behavior (i.e., driving too fast, drinking, etc.).

PTSD can be very difficult on relationships, especially for friends and family members of the person with PTSD.

When a person with PTSD experiences the symptoms listed above, family members may feel that they are being pushed out of their loved one’s life, especially if the person with the symptoms is unable or unwilling to talk about the event. Friends might feel unable to help or be hurt by the individual’s increased irritability.

People with PTSD may feel like no one understands them or can relate to them, which is often true, in a sense. However, a supportive community is a large part of the healing process for those with PTSD.

PTSD is not a medical condition, so there is no “test” to determine whether you have PTSD. However, a doctor or psychologist will usually ask a patient about their symptoms and their traumatic experience.

A person is diagnosed with PTSD if he or she meets the following criteria:

• At least one re-experiencing symptom.
• At least one avoidance symptom.
• At least two thinking and mood symptoms.
• At least two hyperarousal symptoms.

These symptoms must persist for at least one month to enter the diagnostic criteria.

Once a person is determined to have PTSD, the question then becomes: “What can be done?”

There are some different ways to treat PTSD, but the most common way is through psychotherapy. There are several kinds of psychotherapy, but the three most commonly used to treat PTSD are below.

Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT): CPT is a kind of cognitive behavioral therapy during which a patient learns about how their thoughts and feelings are connected and how trauma affects both. When one can change the way they think, their feelings will follow suit.
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR): While it might sound odd to move one’s eyes as a part of therapy, this is exactly what this type of therapy asks a person to do. As the patient talks about their trauma, they move their eyes in specific patterns designed to disrupt the brain’s existing thought patterns. Reprogramming these eye movements allows patients to reprocess the memories of the trauma.
Prolonged Exposure Therapy: This kind of therapy asks patients to face their fears and memories. Instead of avoiding them, prolonged exposure therapy asks patients to gradually re-live them until the raw emotion is lessened and people feel less stressed or triggered.