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

growing up I didn't feel safe at home and I was picked on a lot at school when I was 14 I tried alcohol for the first time I loved how it made me feel this is how I've always wanted to feel like everyone else I thought I was managing my life with my drinking however I became more isolated over time I found myself lying to loved ones hiding alcohol and keeping secrets all so that I could drink without judgment I never wanted to get to the place where people would say she's ruining your life look at that drunk why would she choose alcohol over her family I don't get it why is she drinking herself to death worthless I started to feel that I was doing this to myself and alcohol was more important how did I get here did I really choose addiction I chose to take a drink like most of my friends but I didn't choose to have an addiction I realized that living well for myself was the key which inspired me to learn more about what made me different from my peers what I became addicted to alcohol but they didn't the part of our brain that keeps us well can have devastating effects if it doesn't work properly the area of the brain directly behind your forehead is known as the prefrontal cortex this area is kind of like the brain's executive control one of its major roles is regulating different pathways in the brain such as the fear and reward pathways for example when we experience traumatic events the prefrontal cortex activates the fear pathway and signals to another brain structure called the amygdala which processes fear in turn the amygdala may activate another brain area known as the hippocampus which stores information about threatening people places or things in the future when we encounter them the hippocampus will remind us to avoid them on the other hand it seems that their reward pathway is less active after trauma it's possible that substances such as alcohol or heroin are used in an effort to feel better so what does this mean why did my brain think that alcohol was a good coping strategy scientists now believe that while the reward pathway is under active following trauma the fear pathway is overactive remember the prefrontal cortex well it can't do its job properly to balance the two pathways so my brain presented the solution to keep drinking which increases reward and decreases the fear I lived with at this point it wasn't about being happy it was about surviving learning that there were real changes in my brain allowed me to be kinder to myself and realized that addiction was not my choice that being said I don't want to go back to who I was when I started drinking when I thought I was the problem there wasn't much to be done when I realized something was wrong with my mind then I knew change was possible I learned that if I could change my mind I could change my life and form a new path for myself [Music] even though we talked about how trauma can lead to addiction there are many other factors that can also contribute to someone developing an addiction such as genetics personality and mental illness there is so much value in learning about addiction and I believe it is the key to reducing stigma stigma around addiction is very real and it is the biggest barrier for people trying to seek treatment join the movement with thousands of others working to reduce stigma around substance use and addiction visit caps ACA for more information [Music]

Channel: Carleton University

Views: 62,517

Keywords: Carleton University

Id: LNVShudqsTI

Length: 4min 36sec (276 seconds)

Published: Tue Jan 28 2020