Resolving Long-Term Trauma through Treatment

People who have been in treatment multiple times may not realize what’s making it harder to stay sober after a program. One of the factors our treatment team sees affecting recovery regularly is trauma. Those traumatic experiences could be from when you were a kid, a teen, or even since you became an adult. We’ve seen how not processing those old experiences in safe ways can lead some men and women to binge drinking or experimenting with drugs. Today, let’s look at trauma symptoms, types of trauma that need treatment, and what a program for substance use and trauma looks like at an Origins treatment center.

Trauma survivors can go undiagnosed for years, even decades. During that time, traumatic experiences continue to affect their thinking, their bodies, and their choices. Trying to cope with the feelings caused by trauma leads some people to drink often or turn to using drugs. Symptoms may show up as having panic attacks, getting angry, losing memories, having nightmares, or cutting yourself off from people. Trauma affects every part of a survivor’s life. Programs for substance use disorders at Origins Behavioral Health can integrate care for trauma or other co-occurring mental health disorders.

Those programs include:

• Individual and group therapy
• Meditation and mindfulness training
• Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR)
• Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT)
• Biofeedback
• Neurofeedback

What Kind of Trauma Gets Treated?

Most of us have experienced some kind of trauma in our lives. If we can cope with it in healthy ways, it may not be a problem. But, old trauma can continue to affect us when we’re not even paying attention. It can be harmful to our brains and bodies as it creates distress or panic. Something around may remind us of the old experiences and make us feel unsafe again. The trauma could have been getting physically abused or seeing someone else get abused. It could have come from being sexually abused by a person you knew or a stranger. Perhaps you witnessed an accident or other horrible event or you survived an accident. You may have seen a loved one die. Any of these experiences can traumatize a child or an adult. People in treatment may have experienced more of one of these situations, too.

Symptoms of Trauma

Trauma survivors may feel the physical effects of their experiences over and over. It can show up as insomnia, for example. They may feel fatigue and exhaustion and aches and pains. Flashbacks to traumatic events may change patterns in eating or sleeping. We recognize psychological symptoms in patients seen by Origins Behavioral HealthCare’s professionals, too.

These symptoms may include:

• Fear
• Compulsive behaviors
• Shock
• Irritability
• Anger
• Panic attacks
• Memory loss
• Nightmares

You may have also noticed how you lose interest in your favorite activities at times or isolate yourself from friends and family. You may avoid people and places that remind you of the trauma. These are all symptoms of your brain and body coping with those traumatic experiences.

Types of Trauma Treatment

Treatment for trauma can be part of a program at Origins Recovery Center. Our treatment team helps patients with substance use disorders who have experienced trauma as children or adults. We customize a treatment plan to meet the needs of each patient. A treatment plan can introduce a patient to several types of interventions. Individual and group therapy are two of those interventions. Trauma therapies can include other evidence-based interventions, including meditation training, Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). We may also use biofeedback and neurofeedback with patients.

Other clinical or therapeutic interventions can be added during treatment as we work to figure out what will be most effective to resolve the issue of trauma. As we guide and support a patient, our goal is to help them manage their response to feelings of distress. Also, we teach them new skills to regulate their emotions and work with them on healthy ways to replace using alcohol or drugs when feelings of panic return.

Benefits of Trauma Resolution

A trauma survivor who seeks treatment for substance use at an Origins licensed rehab center can begin seeing many benefits. Their dual diagnosis treatment can help them learn to anticipate trauma triggers. Learning to have more control over their response to those triggers can help lower their anxiety. They can learn how to deal with the anger or mood swings that come with remembering old experiences. Also, patients can learn how to process the memories of trauma in a safe, supportive space. Learning these new skills in treatment can lead to many more benefits after a program ends. In their daily lives, they can focus more on their recovery and continue to get the support they need to stay sober.

Origins Behavioral HealthCare is a well-known care provider offering a range of treatment programs targeting the recovery from substance use, mental health issues, and beyond. Our primary mission is to provide a clear path to a life of healing and restoration. We offer renowned clinical care for addiction and have the compassion and professional expertise to guide you toward lasting sobriety. For information on our programs, call us today: 561-841-1296.