How trauma impacts the brain: reducing stigma around addiction and substance use

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[b.p.poirier]

“At this point it wasn’t about being happy, it was about surviving” Well said

[ici_marmotte]

This is such an important message. The unspeakable stigma needs to end so that people don't need to be ashamed, hide their addictions and cope with them fully on their own instead of looking for help, connecting with other people to talk about it openly.

[ryanshelby]

My addiction problem makes me look so bad and totally affects my life and jobs. It sucks! I know my traumas did this to me. They always say, ‘don’t blame other things’ but something mental is definitely going on. I can feel it.
That’s why it pisses me off when I see people abusing kids. It’s so easy to destroy a kids life.

[eliorato]

My mom treated me with aggression since i was a baby, the world never felt safe enough and everyone just tells me i need to move on and stop drinking, stop self harming, stop killing myself, but... Nothing helps. It only gets worse since i have bipolar and tons of other mental illness, i wish therapy could help but its not doing it

[Sophie-tqyx]

This is what I'm going through now I relapsed this year and I'm clean again 2months but on subi and scared I'll relapse again in my trauma is a big part of it

[gwenpogue]

This explains why this started after my accident my frontal lobe is damaged. To this day there is severe nerve damage n it's numb due to the head trauma. I mean I went to school for this stuff but I thought it was very hereditary genetic huge role in Cycles

[AUTISTICLYCAN]

I'm autistic, I have cerebral palsy, I have brain damage, I have many other disabilities 12 of them in fact. My disabilities were very visible from birth, in school, college and onward to today. I drank beer and cheap wine with my big fatboy brother from another mother in my basement. My brother was 6 feet 6 inches tall in 10th grade so he could buy us booze when we were underage. We'd drink till we were drunk as fish on the weekends and during the Summer only! I never once got addicted to alcohol. I had an operation on both feet called a bi-lateral triple arthrodesis which bloody hurt like heck. I was on pain medicine for 3 years as it took 5 surgeries to repair my feet enough for me to walk. I had lots of pain meds during that time including Morphine, Darvon N-100 and more. I felt myself liking the Darvon N-100 too much so I threw it down the sewer. I started needed that medicine so much I went back to the sewer to try to fish it out. At that time I figured I might be addicted. Scared me to DEATH REALIZING MY MIGHT BECOME AN ADDICT so I just went back home laid in my bed and sweated like a pig, had chills, couldn't sleep but also could not get up and do anything except go to the bathroom.

Eventually the fevers broke, the chills subsided, I stopped feeling like I was stomped by big foot. I swore I'd never take another pain pill again because they are not worth it. If you don't want to activate the downward life consuming spiral called addiction then don't start using addictive substances in the first place.

[rabiatulhazwanie]

Hye..I'm doing research about stigma towards addiction survivor..Can I know the thought about stigma?

[Donna.marie]

Once we realize we have an addiction it is our responsibility to find the root cause (traumatic pathways) and go about changing. At that point it is our choice.
My choice.

[barktwid]

This was me in the 90's. To a tee. I had a choice. Quit drinking or end up dead.

[erinboyer]

Opinion: Mushrooms are much better and far more beneficial than alcohol. By fact, far less dangerous.