How often is childhood trauma the cause of adult addiction?

I think that the oerson should deal with this issues after they went through recovery and they are more stable, because as you've said some of the things that are treated may be more dangerous if they are not stable at all, especially if that person is using drugs/alcohol. But it's just my opinion.

I think in my partner's case it has lot to do with it. He made the decision to drink and mess up his life but he had an abusive childhood that he has never dealt with. Every time he drinks he brings it up. He goes crazy about it and can be very unstable. He needs help desperately. He is a tortured soul.

I think there is some type of correlation. Not that kids with perfect childhoods don't do drugs, just that kids with a more traumatic childhood might get into some problems like addiction. If the person is very resilient and is able to dodge addiction that is great. Though if problems from the past keep making it hard to live in the present and plan a good future, then I don't see why not on getting help on child hood problems.

I went through childhood trauma and big changes when I was younger. I think it helped me fit in when I would drink with strangers. It took the edge off and gave me courage.

I think these are really related and could be affected by other factors. Like those that have been mentioned like environment, character of the person and family support. It will be helpful to know the root cause of addiction in order to know the better approach.

There is a correlation but that doesn't necessarily mean that one should hold onto what happened in the past. There are some people who use childhood trauma as an excuse for doing drugs but they don't realize that they are only hurting themselves by doing so. One should deal with trauma issues whilst fighting their addiction because if they don't [and the reason they used drugs was to cope with what happened in the past] then even if treatment is successful, they might be drawn right back when they think of the past.

I think this happens more often than doctors or family would like to admit. I feel a crucial time frame in our childhood is between the age of 2 years old to puberty. Our bodies are changing so much through these years. At the age of 2, we are first staring to notice everything that is going on around us. If your parents are abusive, get a divorce, or have multiple fights in front of you at this age, I think it is the first effects of later using drugs or having mental issues. I would love to see a study seeing how many kids were in these situations, that also later in life had problems with drug use or mental issues. My husband's parents split up when he was 3 and then again when he was 8. Between him being tossed between family member to family member when his parents could not figure out what they wanted, and then not knowing who he was staying the night with each night, has really messed him up now. Also he watched his parents be verbally abusive to each other, which caused him to abuse drugs to kind of drowned himself out from hearing them fight.

I think it could be better to deal with these issues while in treatment. You never know opening up old wounds after treatment could cause a relapse. Still anything that is causing you trouble in life has to be dealt with. I don't think someone should wait until later to deal with issues like this.

https://www.opendemocracy.net/johann-hari/childhood-trauma-addiction-4600-risk-factor

According to this article, there's a 4600% chance that someone with childhood trauma (six traumas or above) is more likely to become a drub abuser. For every trauma a child experiences, they are two to four times more likely to become an addict. And trauma might be abuse, rape, neglect or harassment.

I love how the article said that: We should stop asking what's wrong with them but start asking, what happened to them?

In my case, it's exactly the opposite: my father was a raging alcoholic while I am anti alcohol. I can't stand people who drink too much and will never touch it.

I think you have to learn how to cope with things, including child hood trauma. The problem with that type of trauma is that you are remembering and seeing through the eyes of a child, which is much less mature than what you are now. if you keep the emotional connections as that of a child, then you may still feel severe emotions about that trauma. To really be able to cope with it, we must look at it from our adult eyes and cope with it like adults.

I think this occurs very often. Lots of times when children are abused they turn out being depressed and suicidal. The only way they can then reduce the sadness is when they turn to drugs to take the pain away.

Children who have tend to have abused or something happened that deeply affected them somehow end up on drugs.

I think when the person is ready to talk about it, or if he wants to talk about it, then it's the best time to deal with such issues. We should take into consideration the mental and emotional state of the person in recovery. Some would rather not remember what happened in the past and just want to get on with their lives. Opening up old wounds may even hinder the process of recovery.

Alcohol and drug addiction is a common way for people to self treat or self medicate past trauma.
Doesn't even have to be childhood. Any trauma may do. Just look at the addiction rate among our veterans who suffer from PTSD, or look at how the addiction rate is higher for poorer communities (which tend to have trauma at a higher rate.) It also does not help that many people who have to deal with trauma are already marginalized and typically won't get the help they need.

Childhood trauma has a bearing on adult addiction. Traumatic episodes during childhood are encrypted in the subconscious shaping child psychology into adulthood since the trauma was not addressed. Childhood trauma manifests in adulthood as rebellion and escapism both which lead to drug abuse.