There is a strong bond that connects trauma and addiction. Many people struggling with addiction have underlying trauma issues. If they don’t, they have at some point experienced trauma during their addiction.

Recovery and therapeutic interventions can assist those individuals who have substance use disorders learn new ways to replace unhealthy behavior patterns and coping skills with new healthy ones. The types of therapeutic interventions that may be helpful are attending a dual-diagnosis treatment program where one can learn to treat both the addiction and the trauma. It is also important to learn mindfulness exercises, new coping skills as well as the life skills they may have been lacking.

The key to resilience and wellbeing is one’s ability to rebound from trauma. To achieve this, it is crucial to tackle the essence of the trauma and work it out by any means possible. The problem will not go away by itself. The past event will be indistinguishable from the present and will live on in the future until this is accomplished.