How Trauma, Addiction, and Mental Health Issues Are Intertwined and How to Cope With Them?
The relationship between trauma and substance abuse disorder is a complex one. To understand the relationship, we have to understand what each of these terms means. Trauma means witnessing, experiencing, or being threatened with an event or a number of events that involve serious injury, a threat to the physical integrity, or possible death. Trauma can occur after a person is exposed to or witnesses a serious accident, rape, war, natural disasters, manmade disasters, and death of a loved one. In response to these events, a person feels intense fear, guilt, shame, horror, or helplessness. It is normal to feel overwhelmed and helpless for a few days after a tragic event. However, if this condition persists, it is termed as Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). PTSD was also called shell shock during the First World War, as people who had witnessed the war from up-close used to suffer from PTSD. Now coming to addiction- Addiction is the dependency on certain drugs, a