Unresolved Trauma Drives Addictive Behavior, According to New Study

Malibu, CA (PRWEB) December 16, 2013

On November 27th, the Scottish Drugs Forum published the results of a study that revealed key insights into the roots of drug addiction. The clinical researchers examined the lives of fifty-five previously addicted heroin users currently in recovery. The study revealed that a past history of trauma was “clearly a significant factor in helping fuel the size of Scotland’s drug problem.”

The study showed that individuals who progressed to heroin, via injecting the drug, demonstrated signs that the person had not been able to cope with traumatic experiences that occurred in the course of their life.

The majority of the subjects included in the study were between 30 and 50 years old. They reported being stigmatized as drug users within their community. They also reported that, by and large, their vision of recovery did not include plans to be successful or wealthy, but rather to live “normal” lives with happiness listed as a primary goal.

Other key findings included individuals with distressing thoughts who primarily used injected drugs to quell fear, worry, and other anxiety-related issues. Drug use reportedly brought about further trauma to these individuals, which often resulted in violence, serious health concerns, overdose, and/or increasing drug use. Participants in the study put recovery into the context of an experience that could allow them to face the “horrors” they experienced without the need to block those experiences with heroin and/or other drugs.

“Our treatment experience has shown that individuals may become dependent on drugs or alcohol after experiencing trauma,” said Pax Prentiss, CEO of Passages Addiction Treatment Centers. “Our team has developed an approach that is extremely effective at helping people work through these experiences and return to their daily lives drug free.”

In the concluding remarks of the study, researchers recommended psychological therapy be made more widely available for those who experienced traumatic events.

Some of the traumas that these individuals experienced in their childhood and adolescence included sexual abuse, parents with mental health issues, criminal activity among parents, and mothers leaving violent fathers. None of those participating in the study were able to recall a childhood free of problems.

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About Passages Malibu & Passages Ventura:

Father and son team Chris and Pax Prentiss founded Passages Malibu in 2001. Its second location, Passages Ventura, first opened its doors in 2009. The two alcohol & drug abuse treatment centers offer an alternative to the 12 step/AA model of addiction treatment by utilizing a holistic program that focuses on the underlying issues of substance dependency, rather than attributing addiction to an incurable disease.

Both Passages Malibu and Passages Ventura accept insurance and each have earned the coveted Joint Commission (JCAHO) accreditation, which has only been given to 6% of the nation’s behavioral health treatment programs.

Passages Malibu was named the #1 treatment center in the world by Healthcare Global, one of the "Most Luxurious Places to Dry Out" by Forbes magazine, and the Huffington Post recently acknowledged Passages as a center that “caters to a high-end crowd, with many CEOs, entrepreneurs and high-powered professionals among its clients.”
The co-founders are also authors of an acclaimed series of addiction treatment books, including their groundbreaking, flagship title, The Alcoholism & Addiction Cure.

For general iquiries about treatment, contact: 866-233-1753.

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