childhood trauma and alcoholism

Alcoholism and Childhood Trauma

Unhealed childhood trauma makes it difficult to cope when people experience emotions that are similar to the emotions experienced during the trauma. Being unable to confront and heal from a traumatic experience causes different problems for different people. Sometimes these problems include relying on alcohol to feel numb. Alcohol numbs pain, but it does not…

depression and addiction

How Depression Impacts Addiction

The link between addiction and depression is strong. Substance abuse is all too prevalent among those who are also dealing with a mental health disorder. One doesn’t necessarily lead to the other in one way. According to reports in the Journal of the American Medical Association, 37% of people who abuse alcohol and 53% of people…

self medicating

The Medical Risks of Self-Medicating

According to the National Institute of Health (NIH), self-medication is defined as “the selection and use of medicines by individuals (or a member of the individuals’ family) to treat self-recognized or self-diagnosed conditions or symptoms.” There can be benefits to safe and responsible self-medication, like accessing the medication when needed and relieving pain on demand. However, the…

co-occurring disorders

Getting Help with Co-Occurring Disorders

Every year, millions of people around the world suffer from substance abuse disorder. Unfortunately, many of them experience mental issues and substance abuse disorders simultaneously. Until the 1990s, people with mental health and substance abuse issues typically received treatment for one condition at a time. Often, these treatments did not occur at the same facility…