Trauma and Addiction

Despite our efforts in becoming more educated and politically correct around stigmas, and mental health needs, there continues to be a societal, personal, and collective shame around 'being an addict'. We have continued to ignore the  underlying issues into 'why people use', and instead we proliferate this shame across multiple social experiences. Addiction is growing in our society, despite the earnest efforts of our justice system and law enforcement to reduce our access and punish it away. If these tactics were effective, we would certainly not be seeing an increase in the use of drugs and alcohol (and their associated consequences) across all socioeconomic tiers. What are we missing, in terms of addiction treatment and rehabilitation?

There is a cycle between the person who is addicted, shaming the addict, the addict hurting/betraying/ disappointing others, and more trauma leading to more addiction. It has been quite convenient for society to point the finger of blame at the addict.  Afterall, many have trauma that is a direct result of the choices and behaviors of an addict. In turn, many trauma survivors turn to addiction to cope with debilitating symptoms and feelings. The dynamics are cyclical and self-perpetuating.  

Attempts to control the spread of the disease have been two-fold: to punish addicts, and to try to decrease access to substances.  If these efforts were successful, should not we have seen a decrease in addiction in the past forty years?  Addiction appears to be more directly correlated with our social connection and purpose, than these other factors.  People who have a secure base of socially healthy friends and family (who love and share time with them), for example, are not seeking an escape from unbearable isolation. Additionally, people who are finding purpose in the world through some fulfilling engagement, are not finding other ways to cope with the extreme boredom of the contrary. 

Bruce Alexander produced a study using rats and morphine, wherein some rats were placed into solitary, boring cages with one water bottle (for water) and another water bottle full of morphine.  These rats inevitably used the morphine frequently, and very soon overdosed.  Other rats were placed into “rat park”, where they could socialize with other rats and were provided toys and sensory stimulation.  These rats were also given the same two water bottles, though rarely did they use the morphine bottle. When they did it was never compulsory.  Here is a link to the article on the “rat park” experiment. 

https://www.brucekalexander.com/pdf/Rat%20Park%201981%20PB&B.pdf

The human cage equivalent may be the result of mental illness (anxiety disorders, depression, or the social exile often experienced by those who meet criteria of bipolar disorders, schizophrenia, or personality disorders), trauma (PTSD, acute stress disorder, dissociative spectrum disorders, personality disorders, paranoia, anxiety, etc.), or just ‘being different” (autism, LGBTQ, multiplicity, etc.), and leads to a deep desire to escape the severely challenging feelings, even for a little while. Society has historically exiled the atypical, or at the very least, denied it the pleasure of being seen, held, validated, heard, and loved. One can be surrounded by people, but this is a very different experience from the warmth and connection that humans really need and crave.

Those who don’t understand how an addict could become ‘that way’, should count themselves lucky.  If you don’t understand, that means you haven’t experienced the depth of pain, loneliness, and despair that accompanies such a need for an extended chemical vacation.  Many addicted individuals are not, themselves, aware of the depth of pain they have carried.  This is likely because of powerful defense mechanisms, social conditioning, or perhaps the fact that we grow accustomed to our baselines.  Basically, we don’t know what we don’t know. 

In order to consider addicts in a more trauma informed world, we must first re-evaluate those elements which have tried and failed.  Shaming addicts, and taking away ready access to drugs does not solve anything.  The shamed person is now more isolated and alone than ever, and if they have a criminal record is less likely to be able to build a healthy purpose in work or society. Habilitation must take into account the need for connections, which we long for as human beings.  The addicted person is often someone who took on the trauma for their family, went to war for us, is over-working, or has lived a life in alienation. Society continues to fail these individuals if we continue to view them with disdain.  

This is not to say that we allow the disease of addiction, to infiltrate our lives and families in an unhealthy way.  Sometimes the addicted brain is not able to form long term cognizance on its decisions, is impulsive, manipulates, steals, and even abuses.  We have to make boundaries that are healthy for us and those we are responsible for.  The research is showing, only, that we begin to change the lens in which we view addiction and the addict as a person.  Each one of us is an individual, and in different stages of our growth, healing and learning.  If we recognize that addiction is more about the trauma of an ‘unbearable cage’, then we can begin to open to individuals based on where they are instead of where they have been.  We can begin to assist our communities in learning how to habilitate back towards our bonding and connections, and away from this generational shift to polarization that is hurting us all.  

I hope you all have a trauma informed week, and are safe and well.  Feel free to share this blog link, and comment below your questions or ideas on how to enhance our connectivity as a human collective.  

Here is an excellent Ted Talk, if you haven’t yet seen it.  This blog post was inspired by Johann Hari’s wisdom and conscientious teaching:

https://www.ted.com/talks/johann_hari_everything_you_think_you_know_about_addiction_is_wrong
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