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Changes in behaviour
Avoiding thinking about, or letting yourself have feelings about, the trauma
Avoidance of people, places or activities that remind you of the event
Using alcohol, tobacco or other drugs to cope
Withdrawing from others
Trauma and substance use
• Some people increase their use of alcohol,
tobacco or other drugs to cope with how they
are feeling after experiencing trauma. This is
often called ‘self-medication’.
• While this often gives some short-term relief,
unfortunately, in the long-term it can make
things worse.
• Alcohol, tobacco and other drug use can
interfere with the brain’s natural processing of
the trauma. People often say that when they
reduce or stop drinking, smoking or using, their
trauma reactions become more frequent or
intense. This is the body‘s way of saying that
the trauma is unfinished business that needs to
be dealt with.
• Some people find that they develop alcohol, tobacco or other drug problems because they
need to drink or use greater amounts more frequently to keep the trauma reactions at bay.
This can lead to a cycle where reactions to trauma and alcohol, tobacco or other drug use
feed off each other (see Figure 1).
What happens to your trauma symptoms when you reduce or stop
using alcohol, tobacco or other drugs? Do you notice any changes?
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3
Alcohol, tobacco
or other drug use
Trauma
Craving
Figure 1:
Cycle of trauma, cravings, and alcohol,
tobacco or other drug use