Post traumatic stress disorder is a debilitating condition which will affect approximately 8 out
of 100 people in their lifetime, according to the National Institute on Mental Health. Arguably,
it’s one of the worst types of mental health issues in existence, and that’s because it essentially
combines all of the others together into one.
Victims can experience extreme bouts of anxiety, strong feelings of depression and even OCD in
some cases. But, PTSD is most defined by the devastating memories and hellish, realistic
flashbacks which result in an abundance of panic. As you can probably guess, the condition
seriously affects daily life, and most individuals find it extremely difficult to cope with the vast
array of awful symtpoms.
So, it’s no surprise that reports suggest around 60% of PTSD sufferers also develop some form
of addiction. The addiction coincides with the PTSD, making their battle for normality much,
much harder. Now, the reason why people begin abusing things like alcohol or drugs is to mask
the effects of post traumatic stress disorder.
If we rewind slightly, then the reason an individual may develop PTSD in the first place is due to
experiencing a traumatic event in the life. The criteria for that is diversified massively; some
may link it to sexual assault, some may connect it to a catastrophic car crash, and some may
point to time spent in the military during a war.
But, in all cases which involve both PTSD and addiction, the reasoning tends to be very similar.
How? Well, during the actual the traumatic event, the individual will experience a rush of
endorphins which are released by the brain, which is the body’s way of reducing the mental
suffering. However, when the traumatic event has been and gone, but the mind is producing
horrific flashbacks, the body has no endorphins to rely on.
That then leads to what’s known as endorphin withdrawal, which is when the body feels like it
needs endorphins to cope but the brain isn’t releasing any. Without the presence of those
numbing chemicals, the sufferer will go through all of those nasty symptoms that we touched on
above.
Moreover, in order to replace those endorphins and cope with PTSD, individuals will turn to
alcohol or drugs which temporarily have the same effect. Although, as you well know, substance
addiction is not the answer and it will only make things significantly worse. Furthermore, when
there’s a co-existence of mental disorders, it can make treatment incredibly complex.
The process involves attending to PTSD, which requires counselling to explore the catalyst
behind it and treatment to recover from it. But, it also involves intensive treatment to deal with
the substance addiction, which is typically comprised of a period on a drug rehabilitation
program and then a lifetime of managing the situation to avoid relapse.
Ultimately, there is a definite link between PTSD and addiction, and it’s because sufferers
desperately want to eradicate the distress they’re going through. However, with two conditions
present at the same time, things will only snowball out of control.
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