The Basis for All Addiction

The Basis for All Addiction

We have become so accustomed to living in a state of stress that often we are unaware of it until we experience pain, disease or addiction.

Often addiction can arise from the pain of stress and the deep desire to simply relax, in addition to the desire to not feel pain, and yet to feel happy and at peace. The key word here is feel. Many adults are locked into a closed state of being in their minds and not feeling. Drugs and alcohol can give a sense of opening and feeling, and yet ultimately cause a cycle of further closure, pain and disease.

Research has shown trauma to be a major factor in addiction. These statistics, from a report issued by the National Center for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and the Department of Veterans Affairs show the strong correlation between trauma and addiction- estimating that up to 75 percent of people who survive abuse and/or violent trauma develop issues related to addiction.

We all share the following:

• Unconscious programs of resistance to avoid pain and feelings of fear, anger and grief, which actually create it.
• The desire to experience the state of fundamental physical, mental and emotional balance, or homeostasis, which is the foundation of health and well being, and from which all feelings of joy, love and peace that we all desire arise.

Those who are considered addicts, not unlike the rest of us, have this cycle happening in the desire to repress pain and to experience well being, as a result of their unconscious response to unconscious programming.

The cycle of the use of drugs, alcohol, food, sex, pornography, etc, and even negative thinking, is the result of the desire to repress pain, fear, anger and grief and to experience the state of homeostasis, health and well being and joy. The use of drugs, alcohol, food, sex, pornography etc., create greater and greater physical, mental, and emotional imbalances, and so the cycle continues until there are physical, mental and emotional breakdowns. These breakdowns create opportunities for change.

Stress, Trauma and the Neurobiology of Addiction 

Advances in neuroscience have helped to reveal how addiction is connected intimately to trauma. According to the National Center for PTSD, approximately 60% of men and 50% of women will experience at least one traumatic event in their life.

Three quarters of those who are treated for substance abuse have also have had traumatic events in their lives.  Those who have been assaulted or sexually abused are three time more likely to become addicted to drugs and/or alcohol.

Recent research has discovered that the stress response, often as the result of trauma, is a main factor in neurotransmitter, brain chemistry, imbalance, in key neurotransmitters are the driving force behind all addictions and cravings.

Neurotransmitters, such as serotonin, norepinephrine and dopamine, are chemical messengers that provide information between nerve cells via their receptors. Hormones and neurotransmitters govern our moods, emotions, behavior, and sleep patterns, as well as every aspect of our physical health.

Mental, emotional and physical health relies on neurotransmitters and hormones being produced, utilized, and metabolized properly. The diminished availability of just one neurotransmitter or a disruption in its path can adversely affect every aspect of life and health.

Alcoholics and drug addicts have very low levels of these neurotransmitters and higher levels of their corresponding receptors. Consistent recreational drinking disables the brain’s ability to naturally produce the “feel good” neurotransmitters. This is defined as “upregulated” brain chemistry.

A new study from neuroscientists at the Scripps Research Institute in San Diego, CA, has found that stress is a key factor in The most common symptoms of brain chemistry imbalance are fatigue, depression, anxiety, panic attacks, addiction, insomnia, tension headaches, and high blood pressure. Stress, high sugar diets, malnutrition, and toxicity are the major influences for neurotransmitter imbalance, with stress and resulting mental factors as the most influential.

The annual national economic burden of brain-related illness is over one trillion. All are related to stress, much of it related to trauma, with addiction number one.

Ending the Trauma – Addiction Cycle

The first step in helping to resolve the trauma-addiction cycle is to calm the over reactive sympathetic branch of the nervous system. I have been trained as a Certified Clinical Trauma Professional. CCTP is highly effective and state of the art in treating PTSD, using the combination of cognitive therapy and teaching clients a range of skills for stabilization including relaxation, self-regulation, grounding, containment and expression.

There is the utilization of verbal and non-verbal methods for helping clients construct and share narratives of their traumatic experiences. facilitating clients’ integration of past experiences while also helping them to develop skills and understandings to live intentional and well adjusted in the present, and assisting clients in developing rituals and practices that bring closure to their traumatic pasts and embrace a survivor’s perspective.*