Trauma-informed care is an important part of therapy for many drug treatment clients. Whereas many treatment centers focus on using and addiction, there are many benefits of trauma-informed care. Many people come to recovery and treatment with unresolved issues related to something traumatic they have experienced in their life.
Some people may have anxiety or PTSD, which are both mental health disorders that are treatable and often require medication and talk therapy. For others, the effects of trauma may not be as noticeable but can often reveal themselves during therapy or recovery work.
Trauma and Coping Behaviors
In recovery, people often “peel back the layers” of their life and discover that their past trauma is a trigger to continue to use alcohol or drugs. They may learn that their poor coping behaviors were a result of dealing with trauma.
Oftentimes, an individual may have developed coping behaviors that worked well while in crisis but now need to be changed to live a happier, healthier life.
Understanding how traumatic experiences can affect the individual and how they can learn to cope with their past trauma today are important parts of trauma-informed care.
Trauma-Informed Care and Addiction
Post-traumatic stress disorder is one way a person’s life can change when they have survived a traumatic experience. Professionals will often describe this mental health disorder as a “normal reaction to abnormal circumstances.” The brain often creates different ways of thinking as a result of a person’s life experiences.
Coping with trauma can change how a person acts, feels, and thinks, as they often go into “survival mode,” and their mind continues to return to that mode after the threat has passed. Trauma-informed care can help treatment providers address both addiction and triggers resulting from traumatic experiences.
Addiction is common among people who have experienced trauma. People who have been to war or survived sexual assault often are diagnosed with PTSD and other issues. It’s widespread for people who have unresolved or unexplored traumatic experiences in their past to self-medicate, especially during the holidays or even anniversaries of the event that caused them so much pain.
Addiction can make a bad situation much worse and puts further strain on your mental health.
Getting Help for Addiction and Trauma
Getting help for resolving past trauma and caring for mental disorders can help a person become more healthy and cope with their life instead of using substances.
At Cycles of Change Recovery Center, trauma-informed treatment helps us meet our clients where they’re at. Trauma-informed care encompasses a treatment framework that involves understanding, recognizing, and responding to the effects of all types of trauma.
Through this trauma-informed approach, we can help our clients by emphasizing physical, psychological, and emotional safety. This approach helps trauma survivors rebuild a sense of control and empowerment in their lives and provide new coping skills.
Get help for addiction and learn to cope with past trauma. We’re here to help you chart your path to recovery. Please call us at 855-604-1367 to learn more about our services and which insurance companies we accept.
Seasons may have a role in substance use patterns. Anecdotally, many people who have addiction issues will tell you winter is hard for them. They may have used drugs a lot more often during the winter season or holidays. Is this only in your head, or is there a science behind it?
Seasonal Affective Disorder’s Role
In the darker months, we’re less likely to be upbeat and cheerful. For one thing, humans get a lot less sun than we used to. Studies show that a lack of Vitamin D can lead to depression. And in the winter, everyone needs a little more Vitamin D.
Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) also affects as many as 4-6% of the population, according to American Family Physician. These people experience a “winter depression” almost like clockwork every year when we begin to have less daylight. Their depression subsides when the spring season begins and should be resolved entirely after Daylight Savings Time. Some people who experience SAD also have other mental health disorders. The depression may not go away for them but may lessen during the darker seasons.
Recognizing Depression
People who are depressed may have the following symptoms:
- Using substances like drugs or alcohol to numb your feelings.
- Less interest in going out, spending time with others.
- Just wanting to “be alone.”
- May take less care about their appearance or neglect their health.
- Fatigue, or a change in sleep patterns. (Insomnia or sleeping a lot.)
- Feeling hopeless or helpless.
- Not talking a lot, being quick to tears when talking.
- Isolating and not returning phone calls or texts.
- Eating much more or less than usual.
If you or somebody you know experiences depression during the winter seasons, there’s help available. Many people in sobriety stay sober and strong by treating their mental health and physical health.
People in sobriety often get depressed during the holidays, too. It’s normal to have a feeling of sadness or loss around the holidays. This is especially true for anyone who is newly sober. Many people describe feelings regret or shame during the holidays. Your feelings may be very raw when you’re first sober, but they will pass.
Speaking with a therapist, getting more exercise, and even sitting in front of a sun lamp every morning can help you treat SAD. However, if these methods don’t work, you should ask a medical professional for help.
Getting Help
If you or somebody you know has an alcohol or drug problem, help is available. If you’re coping with a mental health disorder, we’re here to help with that too. Taking care of your body, mind, and spirit is part of the journey of recovery. Give us a call to learn about how we can help at 855-631-2548.
Benzodiazepines are a prescription medication that many people take legally. They are also highly addictive and difficult to quit using because of the withdrawal symptoms they can cause. They are also commonly prescribed for anxiety or to help somebody physically relax. Some doctors will even prescribe it for rare nerve pain or headache management.
Benzos have been considered everyday medications since the 1990s, but many people are still unaware of the dangers of using these common prescription drugs. Medicines that belong in this class include Klonopin, Valium, and Xanax.
Symptoms of Addiction to Benzodiazepines
Most people who are addicted to drugs show symptoms of their addiction. Sometimes it is subtle, such as canceling plans with family or friends. As it progresses, however, the addicted person will have trouble managing their life. Their addiction may put their relationships, finances, and freedom at risk. It’s not uncommon for people who abuse drugs to break the law to get more of their drug of choice.
People who abuse drugs or alcohol, including benzodiazepines, will keep a stash of the drugs in a safe place. You might find half-pills or bottles of prescriptions that don’t belong to them. They may try to get a prescription by lying to their doctor or going to a new doctor.
Finally, a person who is addicted to drugs will take more of the drug than needed. They will display addictive behavior like trying to ration or get ahold of more of their drug to get the “fix” they need.
An addicted person will go to desperate lengths to get their drug of choice.
Benzo Addiction is Dangerous
Benzo addiction can be deadly. When a person is abusing benzodiazepines, they are at risk for overdose because they breathe more slowly the more drug they have in their body. Some people drink or use opioids alongside benzo, which can cause a deadly reaction or overdose.
Increasingly, coroners are finding that people who have overdosed on drugs have a combination of benzos and opioids in their body at the same time.
People who try to quit abusing benzodiazepines can experience severe withdrawal symptoms. For most people, clinical detox is recommended before drug rehabilitation starts.
Getting Help for Addiction
Addiction, also called substance use disorder, is a disease of the brain that can cause a lot of pain in a person’s life. You don’t have to live that way anymore! Our offices are open and welcome new clients! We can help answer questions about our program at 855-976-1495.
Addiction is a topic often discussed in the media, but it is still the subject of many stereotypes. It’s easy to imagine heroin addicts and homeless people addicted to alcohol. If you or somebody you love has a problem with alcohol or drugs, you’re not alone. You may wonder if a person can be addicted if they don’t meet your preconceived notions of addiction or alcoholism. There are a lot of myths about addiction. A lot of these myths can be harmful and keep people from getting the help they deserve. If you don’t fit a myth, you may wonder if you’re truly addicted or not.
Here are five significant myths about addiction:
- Myth 1: You have to hit a really low bottom to be considered an addict. Many people imagine a person addicted to drugs as being homeless or somehow derelict. While there are people who hit extreme “bottoms” with their drug use, there are also countless people who don’t fit that image. People with substance use disorders come from pretty much all walks of life. Many people manage to hold down jobs or responsibilities but are quite miserable because of their addiction.
- Myth 2: Addiction is a choice. Addiction is a disease that no one chooses. Many factors probably make some people more likely to be addicted than others. There is still a lot of research out there about addiction that needs to be discovered, but this is one of the most common myths about addiction. Studies show that some people experiment with substances, while others find substances impossible to put down.
- Myth 3: Pills aren’t a problem. Some people take drugs like Adderall for ADHD, but other people abuse them. Pills can be an addiction, even if a doctor continues to write you a prescription for them. Drugs like Klonopin, a benzodiazepine, can be highly addictive.
- Myth 4: Binge drinking isn’t addictive behavior. Binge drinking can involve drinking until you’re blackout drunk. This kind of lifestyle can place you in danger of alcohol poisoning and leave you to risky, scary behavior. What’s even worse is that you won’t remember it in the morning.
- Myth 5: I’m too young to be addicted. Young people can have substance use disorders, just like adults can. You can be an alcoholic and be drinking age or become addicted to marijuana in a state where pot is legal. Addiction can be to anything that alters your mood.
If you feel bad about your drinking or drug use, you probably have a problem with a substance. If your use of substances is causing you legal, physical, or relationship problems, there’s a good chance you will benefit from sobriety. If you’re having trouble getting sober on your own, then there is help available to you. You don’t have to face addiction on your own.
Getting Help, Getting Sober
We offer several services, including intervention services, to help you and your family recover from addiction. You can recover, and the great news is that help is available every step of the way. The first step is picking up the phone to learn more about how we can help. We’re here to answer any questions you may have. Contact us at 855-409-8869 to learn more about our services and how we can help.
Almost any drug that can cause psychological effects such as euphoria can be abused. People can become both psychologically and physically addicted to drugs or abuse, including alcohol. Addiction is a disease that does not discriminate. People from all walks of life can and do develop addictions to all kinds of drugs. Drug addiction is a massive problem in the United States, especially due to the opioid epidemic.
The good news is that people can also get clean and sober no matter what type or quantity of drugs they use.
Understanding Addiction
Drugs like opioids and methamphetamine are considered highly addictive. Addiction takes place because the continued use of these drugs causes physical changes in the brain. These changes make a person develop a tolerance to the drug, requiring more of it to get the same effects.
Not only do these drugs cause withdrawal effects, but they also cause a person to be more compulsive and do things they usually wouldn’t do, all in the pursuit of a high. Most people addicted to drugs or alcohol display addictive behavior. They may sell possessions, try to get illegal prescriptions, or even try a more potent drug to get the relief they’re seeking.
Withdrawal effects like cramps, shaking, nausea, and bone pain often occur if a person goes without their drug of choice for some time.
The Most Dangerous Drugs
Which drugs are the most dangerous? Drugs that are highly addictive and can cause overdose deaths would be a the top of the list when it comes to danger. However, almost any drug can cause a person to do illegal, dangerous, or out of character.
Here are some of the most dangerous drugs:
- Opioids like Oxycontin, Vicoden, heroin, opium, and fentanyl are all dangerous. Fentanyl, in recent years, has been the cause of thousands of overdose deaths because of its potency. Sometimes street drugs are laced with fentanyl without the user’s knowledge.
- Cocaine and crack can cause users to act erratically, be paranoid, or violent. They both can damage the heart, while crack can cause damage to the lungs as well. Some people who overdose experience seizures or heart attacks.
- Methamphetamine is an intense, highly addictive drug that can cause hallucinations and extreme paranoia when a user has stayed awake for days. Addiction devastates the body, causing skin problems, rotten teeth, and weakening the heart.
- Benzodiazepines such as Klonapin are usually prescribed to help people with anxiety or muscle tightness. People who abuse the drug can become physically addicted and develop irregular heartbeat, lung problems, and depression. Combined with other drugs or medications, there is a potential for fatal overdoses.
- Alcohol addiction is one of the most prevalent addictions in the world. Alcohol overdose can cause death. People who combine alcohol with other substances are more likely to overdose or cause serious injuries.
Addiction isn’t a choice. Some people are more prone to substance use disorders than others. When a person is addicted to a drug, trying to stop using it can be a constant struggle. Physical withdrawal symptoms are often intense and sometimes even dangerous. For highly addictive drugs, a clinical detox is usually required. Some people also need Medication-Assisted Treatment to help them decrease cravings and begin the journey to recovery. Detox is an important starting point to help people get clean in a safe, comfortable environment.
Any drug that can be abused has the potential to become an addiction. If you’re experiencing a substance use disorder, help is available.
Getting Help
Do you or a loved one have a problem with substance use? Are you sick and tired of being sick and tired? You’re not alone! We can help you get sober in a safe, professional, inspiring environment. Even during the COVID-19 crisis, we’re here to help you.
Call us at 855-409-8869 for more information on our recovery services.
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