A study recently published by the Oxford University Press regarding America’s response to the attacks of 9/11 shows that there may, indeed, be a connection between trauma and substance use and abuse.
The study involved close to 1,000 Manhattan residents who were surveyed by researchers a few weeks after the terrorist attacks on 9/11. Residents reported a nearly thirty percent increase in substance use. Nearly twenty-five percent began drinking more, ten percent increased their smoking, and a little over three percent said that they had increased their use of marijuana. Interestingly, those same individuals who had increased their use of alcohol and drugs seemed to display increased symptoms of post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), indicating the possibility of self-medicating the symptoms of PTSD through the increased use of substances.
“Often times individuals find their own ways of coping with stress and trauma alone, regardless of whether those methods to cope are the most healthy or effective,” begins a spokesperson for Mountainside
Drug Rehab and Alcohol Treatment Centers. “It’s far easier to medicate at home with readily available substances than to admit that you’re having a difficult time coping with situations. Often times, addictions are born out of the need to keep our problems under wraps and handle them ourselves. We need to take away the stigma of asking for help and have people understand that it is the strong person who asks for help in dealing with the challenges that he or she faces.”
Researchers in the study are careful to note that individuals have various reactions to traumatic events and that not everyone turns to substances to self-medicate. Some actually react in the opposite manner and become more clear-headed in their attempt to get their lives back on track.
If you or a loved one’s life has become derailed by a traumatic incident or through the challenges of life, Mountainside Drug Rehab and Alcohol Treatment Center can help you put the pieces back together.
Mountainside Drug Rehab and Alcohol Treatment Center is a modern drug rehab facility that is skilled in serving a variety of clients with various addictions and in varying stages of their addiction. The caring, compassionate team is made up of licensed and certified social workers and counselors who have extensive experience and specialty in the addiction treatment field. In addition, the staff includes a Nurse Practitioner, as well as a Registered Nurse, both of whom also have specializations and experience within the field of addiction treatment and alcohol rehab.
Mountainside also provides services for those individuals who come to them with dual diagnoses and require the services of a Psychiatrist to help conquer the unique challenges that dual diagnosis brings.
For the past 13 years, Mountainside has established itself as an innovator within the addiction treatment field, and the treatment modalities Mountainside utilizes are regarded as among the most cutting-edge approaches in helping individuals to get, and to remain, sober. As a result of their unique, innovative approaches to addiction treatment, Mountainside has become the model for the addiction treatment field.
The program, along with its professional addiction treatment team, have earned national recognition and resulted in Mountainside being invited to Washington by the White House to meet with the White House Drug Czar, John P. Walters, for an in-depth meeting on what makes its program so successful. These accolades did not go unnoticed within the addiction treatment field and resulted in the adoption by many throughout the country of a more holistic approach to drug addiction treatment.
If you or someone you love is addicted to drugs or alcohol, or if you have any questions, please contact Mountainside
Drug Rehab and Alcohol Treatment Center for a confidential inquiry at 800-762-5433.
