Stress, addiction, de-addiction trauma: a vicious circle

A vicious circle is a never ending chain of events. It keeps on rotating, until broken from outside force. This stress can be caused by various external factors. Dealing with which can be very difficult though. Thus many of us surrender to various addictions. I would like to put an excerpt of an article here, with due gratitude, about how the external substances like drugs and alcohol can help people deal with the stress and traumatic incidents. It is as follows: After a traumatic event, people often report using alcohol to relieve their symptoms of anxiety, irritability, and depression. Alcohol may relieve these symptoms because drinking compensates for deficiencies in endorphin activity following a traumatic experience. Within moments of experiencing a traumatic incident, there is an increase in the level of endorphins in the brain.
During the time of the stress, endorphin levels remain heightened and help numb the emotional and physical pain caused by the trauma. However, after the trauma is over, endorphin levels gradually decrease and this may lead to a period of endorphin withdrawal that can last from hours to days. This period of endorphin withdrawal may produce emotional distress and contribute to other symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Since alcohol use increases endorphin activity, drinking following trauma may be used to compensate this endorphin withdrawal and thus avoid the associated emotional distress. This model has important implications for the treatment of PTSD and alcoholism. (source: Uncontrollable Trauma, PTSD and Alcohol Addiction-By National Institute of Health)
Various highly traumatic incidents such as death of someone loved, experiencing a horror or even threat to life can lead to PTSDs. These incidents are very much grave and leave an embossed mark in one’s life. Addiction and trauma go hand in hand. It is the trauma which leads to addiction in life. As stated in above quote, any traumatic incidents can be very stressful and devastating, thus drives someone towards undue acts such as binge drinking or substance abuse. Similarly addiction and ptsd are also followed by each other. There is strong requirement to erase out the memories or causes of the traumatic incidents from life and undergo the therapies to overcome the trauma as well as the addiction. It is only possible with the help of professional medical, psychological support and clients’ determination to overcome the addiction and trauma.

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