Experiencing a traumatic or life-threatening event may cause long-term effects that result in disabling symptoms. This is called post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD. Not everyone who has PTSD gets diagnosed, and they may attempt to deal with their symptoms through drug or alcohol use. People who have PTSD and addiction need to have both disorders treated at the same time for the best results.
What is PTSD?
PTSD typically develops after you’re exposed to a traumatic event. The event might happen directly to you, or it might happen to someone you’re close to or even a stranger. The result is a chronic mental health disorder that has a number of signs and symptoms. Some examples of traumatic events include serious accidents, sexual or physical abuse, assault by a stranger or someone you know, military combat, and natural disasters.
Not everyone who goes through a serious and traumatic event will develop signs of PTSD. There are various factors that influence whether a person might develop PTSD after witnessing or being involved in a traumatic event. For example, more women develop PTSD in response to trauma vs. men.
In general, between three and four percent of adults in the United States have PTSD. The rate becomes higher when you look at groups like military veterans as well as first responders and law enforcement.
Common Causes of PTSD
Specifically devastating and traumatic experiences are the type that can cause PTSD. Losing your job or a relationship is not the type of event that usually causes PTSD. Instead, being involved in the following experiences raise the risk for PTSD:
Although anyone can technically develop PTSD through traumatic scenarios, some people are more at risk. Those with repeated trauma, a history of mental illness, childhood abuse victims, and those who experience further stress after the traumatic event are more at risk to develop PTSD.
What Are the Signs and Symptoms of PTSD?
In order to meet the criteria for a PTSD diagnosis, a person needs to exhibit a number of signs and symptoms. There are four main categories of symptoms, which include intrusion symptoms, avoidance symptoms, cognition and mood symptoms, and arousal and reactivity symptoms.
In order to qualify for a PTSD diagnosis, a person must exhibit at least one intrusion symptom, one avoidance symptom, two negative mood or cognition symptoms, and two obvious changes in arousal and reactivity. The symptoms also need to be present for at least a month while affecting important areas of life like school or work.
Some examples of symptoms that might present together in a person with PTSD include the following:
How Does PTSD Lead To Substance Abuse?
How does PTSD lead people to try drugs and/or alcohol? One answer is that many people with symptoms of PTSD do not realize they have it and go undiagnosed. These people have strong feelings of hopelessness and frustration. They also may have disturbing flashbacks and fears that interfere with their everyday life.
In order to mask these feelings, or cope with these feelings, PTSD sufferers turn to drugs or alcohol. Studies show that nearly half of the people with PTSD also meet the criteria for addiction. People with PTSD who use drugs or alcohol often believe that they are self-medicating their symptoms.
There are other reasons why PTSD often leads to substance abuse. Some of those factors include genetics and having a high-risk profession. People in high-risk professions may already use drugs or alcohol before developing PTSD.
How Do Drugs and Alcohol Make PTSD Worse?
Why do drugs and alcohol actually make PTSD worse when it feels like they’re making you feel better while you’re taking them? There’s no doubt that using drugs or alcohol can mask or remove stressful emotions. The problem is that the effects don’t last forever. Once the drug’s effects wear off, you have to take more. Increasing your dose and the frequency will eventually lead to physical dependence.
Physical dependence means that you’ll have withdrawal symptoms when you attempt to reduce your drug or alcohol use. Drugs rewire brain chemistry and can exacerbate feelings of depression, anxiety, lack of focus, detachment, and irritability. These also happen to be symptoms of PTSD. In other words, drug withdrawal symptoms can mirror PTSD symptoms, which effectively makes them even stronger.
Treatment for PTSD and Addiction
In the past, PTSD and substance abuse were often treated as separate problems, and the substance use disorder was usually treated first. However, dual diagnosis treatment is considered more effective to treat co-occurring disorders like PTSD and substance abuse.
Dual diagnosis treatment is when two or more disorders are diagnosed and treated at the same time. Outpatient drug and alcohol rehab centers like Mission Harbor in Santa Barbara offer dual diagnosis and professional treatment of co-occurring disorders through medication and therapy.
Medications that can be used to treat PTSD often include antidepressants. These medications can help with sleep problems as well as reducing some other symptoms. Therapy combined with medication is considered the most effective. Cognitive behavioral therapy is one of the most common and effective therapies to treat mental health disorders, including addiction and PTSD. CBT helps people learn to recognize their triggers and to cope with them in healthy ways.
The Link Between PTSD and Substance Abuse
What is PTSD? According to the American Psychiatric Association, a psychiatric disorder may occur in people who have experienced or witnessed a traumatic event.
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and substance abuse are related. At Mission Harbor Behavior Health, our southern California rehab, we treat addiction and PTSD together. Studies have shown that there are a number of ways to treat these co-occurring disorders.
A therapy used in the treatment of PTSD and addiction is CBT (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy.) CBT has been used in addiction treatment along with other therapies. It has proven to be effective in treating PTSB as well.
The Use of CBT
One of the successful methods of treating these co-ocurring conditions is Prolonged Exposure therapy, an approach that is part of CBT. It may consist of the following:
Breathing helps the patient to become aware of relaxing during the exposure sessions. It is a means of handling the distress and will remain a part of PTSD recovery after the sessions have ended.
In vivo exposure has clients and therapists working together. They create a list of feared and avoided, yet safe, trauma-related situations. The client can then systematically and repeatedly engage in these situations until the anxiety in the situation lessens or diminishes.
In imaginal exposure, the situation is repeated to the therapist for in the present. This goes on for 45 to 60 minutes without ceasing. The sessions are audio-taped, allowing the client to listen to them daily.
Patients have rated the exposure-based treatments as highly effective and this type of therapy has been used successfully, as it is well-tolerated.
Why PTSD and addiction may be linked to childhood
According to government studies, traumas from childhood, such as neglect and sexual abuse, are considered major health problems in the United States. Evidence has been found that early childhood trauma may lead to the following:
The abundance of stress in childhood may lead to psychological difficulties in adulthood. According to one study, up to 59 percent of young people with PTSD subsequently develop substance abuse problems. There were indications in studies that high levels of trauma in childhood lead to increased substance abuse as adults, reinforcing the link between addiction and PTSD.
If you or a loved one are struggling with addiction and PTSD, recovery is as close as our southern California rehab. PTSD recovery is facilitated by trusted, caring, and professional counselors who know the best methods for treating this disorder. Whether from childhood trauma, exposure to a violent accident or a natural disaster, or the struggles of a war zone, we can help you. Give us a call to find out more.
PTSD recovery, as well as recovery from addiction, can take place in an outpatient setting. You can become your best self and move on from past experiences that are defining your life. Contact us and begin your journey to recovery.
Updated content on 06/10/21
The facilities at Mission Harbor are staffed with trained experts to best assist patients with their mental health issues. We are capable of dealing with any and all cases with a licensed staff, equipment, and approved techniques. Our mission is to help those who want to help themselves, and we support your decision in seeking help.
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