Trauma, Drama, and Substance Misuse – The Road to Dependency
Michael Richman MA,LPC - New Revelation Counseling Service LLC - Ada Mi.
Substance use (Alcohol and drugs of all kinds) can negatively affect anyone, any age, anywhere, any socioeconomic class and is least understood in terms of how to manage and treat. It can strike a person when they least expect it, as there trying to handle an increased workload, Child care and child rearing, mental health issues, family issues, marriage problems, and financial stress. It often starts innocently – Trying to relieve the stress of everyday life, before the person knows it there turning to alcohol and drugs more and more to cope with life.
A trauma (death to a family member or friend, loss of a job, relationship loss, ..etc.) however, is most often the accelerator that changes the level of alcohol or drug use. This is an ineffective way to deal with a trauma because it usually makes the situation worse in the long run, but it also increases one’s tolerance to alcohol or drugs to the next level. Within a weeks’ time of over indulgent use, your tolerance level can change dramatically. Your body and brain need more alcohol/drugs to achieve the same level of intoxication, this of course means greater and great amounts of alcohol/drugs over time. The next trauma could well push you past the level of choice and into the level of chemical dependency.
Do not overestimate how quickly casual social use of alcohol/drugs can become a dependency, it happens to people every day. This dependency increases with each day, week, and month and all of a sudden you are caught in the grip of dependency and will need some form of treatment to return to sanity.
I have often described this decent as a slow-motion train wreck. Everyone around you can see that it’s happening but they can’t convince you to get off the train before the big crash.
If you know you’re on that train, get off now, before the wreck, and find the help you need. Your life will be much simpler when you do. No more trauma and drama.
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