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Let’s start with how trauma fits into the picture

Trauma and addiction are inextricably linked and I’m going to explain why. The definition of trauma is a deeply disturbing or distressing experience. There are a few broad categories that easily fit this definition such as experiencing war, surviving an airplane crash, or being a victim of physical or sexual abuse but trauma is much more insidious. Trauma is individually subjective: what hurts you emotionally is not the same thing that hurts me emotionally. Trauma is anything that disrupts our sense of safety. One of the brain’s jobs is to find the best solution to protect us, but the brain doesn’t know the difference between a healthy solution and an unhealthy one.

It may surprise you that trauma and addiction often go together

Trauma and addiction are nearly always found together, and here’s why. I am asked repeatedly if I believe that marijuana is a gateway drug to the usage of far more dangerous and deadly drugs with much more potential towards addiction, and there is never a simple answer to that, says recovery and trauma expert Robb Kelly. Marijuana is used by a person with an addictive brain or a person with a genetic predisposition towards alcoholism can become a gateway; but for people without those traits, marijuana can be innocuous. The only thing that I have found to truly be a gateway to addiction is trauma. Every single person I have ever treated with a substance abuse disorder has underlying trauma.

Trauma and addiction can happen like this

A critical parenting style, bullying, emotional abandonment, marital discord, and other forms of family dysfunction can cause the same effect on the brain as being shot at in a war zone. The brain cannot tell the difference between a war in Afghanistan and a war in the home. Even seemingly minor events such as ridiculing (even if it is only meant in jest) can cause long-lasting trauma which will carry over to adulthood. When trauma is not resolved in childhood it is carried over into adulthood which then sets up a situation for more trauma to occur. You have probably heard about little “t” and big “T” in the recovery world; I categorically believe through my research that with the addicted brain there is no such thing as a little “t.”

To the human brain, all emotional pain can be lasting trauma

An obsessive brain will focus on a small negative experience and make it a big negative experience. To the brain, it is trauma, period. Trauma affects us psychologically, cognitively, behaviorally, and physiologically. It has a direct effect on a person’s ability to lead a normal and satisfying quality of life. Fascinating fact about animals; if a deer gets clipped by a passing car but does not die, it will stay down for a minute then arise standing on all fours. What happens next is especially important. The next move is to shake violently for a few seconds, then carry on with the day without a thought about what just happened. When the deer shakes violently it is shaking off the trauma from the car hitting him.

Unlike animals, humans keep their emotional pain

Humans don’t shake off negative experiences. We store up for weeks, months, and even years our emotional pains which distorts our thought patterns and batters our central nervous system. This is important for a discussion on addiction because drugs and alcohol are a solution for protection. We drink or use drugs, and the central nervous system calms down and that creates a neuropathway in the brain that if used repeatedly as a coping mechanism becomes an addiction.

Trauma and addiction are now hot subjects of research

Research on the role of trauma in addiction is what I consider to be in its infancy. Addiction has been around for centuries but up until the past 50 years, it was considered moral or behavioral failings versus a medical condition requiring medical intervention. Trauma makes it difficult to cope and can lead to many sorts of unhealthy coping mechanisms, but drugs and alcohol are an easy fix for numbing the emotions. Once a person crosses over from self-medication to addiction, they run the risk of never learning to deal with the underlying emotions. It is imperative in addiction recovery that underlying trauma be brought to light and worked through. I call it “returning to the scene of the crime.” When I start working with a person on their recovery, the first thing I ask them is what their childhood experience was like and if have they experienced any major trauma. It may not even be apparent to the patient that they have this trauma holding them back. It is imperative that underlying trauma be addressed as part of the recovery process to not do so is almost guaranteeing relapses. Trauma likes to hide in our subconscious creating havoc in our lives as it pleases. The debate about marijuana will no doubt rage on and maybe it is an important consideration as more states consider legalizing it for recreational usage. I have come across no one in my twenty-plus years of practice who became a full-blown addict through the use of marijuana on its own, but I see the effects of trauma in every single person that I have met with an addictive disorder. I believe that is where our research and new treatment methods should be focused By Robb Kelly PhD. Robb Kelly, Ph.D. has been working with addicts and alcoholics over the last 20 years. He was tired of seeing addicts and alcoholics going in and out of treatment programs – remaining sober for a short period of time and then relapsing. He knows the current treatment model is broken and it doesn’t work. Recovery Coaching offers an alternative to traditional treatment for those who desperately want to recover. More Articles To Read About Addiction

Does Depression Cause Addiction

Four Tips To Help You Manage Your Emotions

Lifestyle Diseases You Can Get From Substance Abuse

PTSD: Everything You Need To Know

Understanding Addiction Recovery Options

Stress Relievers That Are Easy And Work


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  1. I always say what came first the chicken or the egg. I took my first drink at 11 alone to be able to sleep. Got in my Dads liquor he didn’t find out until I was an adult because he never drank the liquor he just had it, he did become a meth addict, he’s father an alcoholic and so on. I was never told or saw anyone drink alone to get to sleep, how did I know that? I don’t know. Of course that’s not sleep it’s a blackout and horrible for you. My insomnia started at around 4 I would lie awake all night contemplating the universe and the massiveness of it all, become frightened and had no one to talk to. Around age 8 I call them angels came and talked to me. The stories they told me years later I read in the Book of Enoch. Are they real to me yes, could they be some kind of coping mechanism my brain made as a child possibly. My journey has been difficult. I’m doing a lot better now been to hell and back. Idk the original trauma I can’t remember it but the subsequent traumas are difficult. Someday I have to write my trauma story it’s going to be difficult and sound like fiction. No one is going to see it but myself and my therapist. I believe a lot of addicts have experienced trauma, and those of us traumatized before the age of two or traumatized at any age as a child continually have a harder time recovering and 12 steps do not work for us. We have to use all kinds of different techniques and it’s different for us. There is hope if I can do it so can others. I call us the beautifully broken. Thank you!

Robb Kelly

Robb Kelly, PhD is a renowned addiction consultant who believes in treating the problem of addiction, not the symptoms. He has worked for many years helping addicts and alcoholics to recover their lives from the disease of addiction. Based on his own experiences working with addicts and alcoholics over the last 20 years, a PhD in Psychology from Oxford University and as a recovered alcoholic himself – he is a triple threat against the disease of addiction. Dr. Kelly was the CEO of a thriving telecommunications company when the walls came crashing down on him due to alcoholism. He ended up homeless and broken on the streets of Manchester, England until he found the courage to save himself. A sought-after recovery expert, Dr. Kelly has appeared on such shows as The Doctors, Eye Opener, Good Morning Texas, and Kens5 morning news.  A sample of radio and print interviews include The Jim Bohannon show, Miracles in Recovery, and USA Today. Dr. Kelly hosted Sober Celebs show on KLIF radio in Dallas, and currently hosts the Recovery Channel podcast featuring special guest discussing a variety of mental health issues. Instructor/speaker for Let’s Get Back to 98% Recovery DVD’s used in prisons and recovery treatment centers throughout the US. Dr. Kelly shares his personal highs and lows as he struggled and overcame crippling alcoholism in the November 2019 release of the book “Daddy, Daddy Please Stop Drinking”. Professional Credentials: PhD, Psychology, Trinity College/Oxford University, October 13, 1984 PhD, Psychology (Behavioral Science concentration), University of Southampton, July 25, 2013 Nationally Certified Recovery Coach (NCRC 1) Somatic Experience Practitioner Certification Certified Life Coach Certified Nuero-Linguistic Programming Practitioner Certified International Interventionist Certified Brain Spotting Practitioner

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