What we experience early in life can influence our future responses. A psychologically traumatic event from your past may impact how you think, feel, and behave today. That’s how post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) develops. While addiction is an illness of the brain, PTSD is more of an injury to the brain—something from the outside that…
There are many risk factors that come into play when a person develops an alcohol dependence. Both environmental and biological influences play a role in addiction. One of the environmental risk factors that can be very powerful in this relationship is past experience with trauma. It is unclear how trauma affects the decision-making process involved…
The link between substance use and trauma causes more problems for victims. Substance use can play a significant role in both the lives of trauma victims as well as in the lives of those who traumatize others. For example, victims often use substances in reaction to trauma and many perpetrators of child abuse, neglect, domestic…
Individuals who have suffered trauma and subsequently, post-traumatic stress disorder, struggle with many different symptoms. Victims are often impaired socially and struggle with nightmares, excessive anger, and flashbacks. The connection between abuse, trauma, and eating disorder complicates lasting recovery. Reach out to a mental health treatment center in Pennsylvania if you or a loved one…
When dealing with a codependent relationship, it’s crucial to look at how it began and what factors created it. Trauma and co-dependency frequently go hand-in-hand with childhood trauma causing codependent symptoms in later life. But what can you do about it? To understand the causes of trauma and co-dependency, discuss your concerns with a compassionate…
The American Psychological Association defines trauma as “an emotional response to a terrible event like an accident, rape or natural disaster.” The effects are long-lasting and might take the form of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), a debilitating anxiety disorder characterized by symptoms such as nightmares, feelings of hyper-arousal and multisensory flashbacks reminiscent of the traumatic…
Recent findings from an American research group point to a connection between drug problems in veterans, depression and emotional trauma exposure that occurs as early as childhood or as late as after the end of military service. Diagnosable problems with drugs or alcohol appear fairly frequently in men and women who have served in the…
Horse therapy is a unique form of animal-assisted therapy. It is an experiential therapy, meaning that progress is made through hands-on activities. Horse therapy has been beneficial for people with post-traumatic stress disorder, social anxiety disorder, and even substance use disorder. Horses seem to have an uncanny ability to reveal dramatic truths to people, and…
Stress, anxiety and the blues are all feelings that can be expected after a traumatic event, but a more serious condition called post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) may be at play if symptoms like nightmares, avoidance, mood swings and poor concentration persist for more than a month after the triggering event.
By Bethany Winfield, MFT, MA, EMDR I & II, Trauma Therapist at The Ranch Studies show childhood trauma is at the root of many addictions and can also lead to other mental health disorders. Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) is one of the ways we help people uncover and heal traumatic memories that have…