The Trauma Under It All
After years of doing individual therapy and running several groups at various treatment facilities, I have learned a few things. (1) Most alcoholics and addicts are saturated with shame, guilt, and fear (2) Alcoholism/addiction destroys an individual, their life, and the lives of the people around them (3) Most alcoholics and addicts have endured some type of trauma in their life. The trauma underlies it all! The trauma often creates feelings of shame, guilt, remorse, despair, and fear, which inevitably lend to more use, which results in greater destruction.
Neurologically, human response to fear derives from the limbic region of their brain, which is the most primitive region of our brain-“fight or flight.” When an individual endures a trauma (i.e. abuse, abandonment, loss, violence, even divorce), especially at a young age, an element of fear is experienced. Because of that fear, a person chooses to either “fight” or “flight” in order to protect himself or herself, to survive. A neuro-pathway is etched into our brains, which provides us with a survival skill for any perceived threat of danger or lack of safety. The challenge that develops is that many of us carry certain defense mechanisms/survival tools into our adult life, which are no longer useful. This means that we find ourselves acting and responding automatically in ways that are less than preferable.
The good news is that we can change or alter neuro-pathways, though it is often a long and arduous process that takes place in therapy. However, one’s past does not have to been a means to imprison one’s future. This change requires commitment and patience in order to come to fruition, but it can be done!
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Filed under: Treatment
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