Child abuse and drug addictions

Traumatic experiences in childhood are linked to an increased likelihood of abusing alcohol and/or drugs at some point in an person’s life – there are those who may begin experimenting with drugs or alcohol during adolescence (11-14), while others will develop addictions later in life as a way to self medicate and numb themselves from the abuse. Addressing the root cause (the abuse) is key to successful intervention and generally lessens the chance that the survivors will turn to substance abuse as a way to medicate themselves and bury the pain of their abuses.