I don't disagree with anything you've said here but would quibble as to why you've separated mental illness from alcoholism/addiction. Substance use disorder (including alcoholism) is a mental illness, many mental illnesses are diseases you're born with.
That's very fair, just my scattered reading dividing the categories when it shouldn't have been.
I included both in my response agreeing with this because I agree with the alienation part and I know I treated a lot of my trauma by self-medicating (which in turn really activated the addict in me so I think they are related).
Absolutely. Trauma causes severe disruption in the brain, one of which is the low levels of cortisol and high levels of catecholamines along with abnormal threat response. That stuff isn't occasional but structural, a continuous production of excess stress hormone and exhausting excitatory state. If alcohol or weed or opioids reduce that pain and bring stress down when nothing else seems to be able to, those are going to be used, and excessively. I've struggled with addiction and have a large extended family rife with it, it seems like the only option because so many personal, social, societal supports are missing and it sometimes is the only thing that'll lessen the noise and quiet the pain.
But for individual social supports there are comrades here around to talk and who've gone through maybe similar things, we're not alone.
I don't disagree with anything you've said here but would quibble as to why you've separated mental illness from alcoholism/addiction. Substance use disorder (including alcoholism) is a mental illness, many mental illnesses are diseases you're born with.
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That's very fair, just my scattered reading dividing the categories when it shouldn't have been.
Absolutely. Trauma causes severe disruption in the brain, one of which is the low levels of cortisol and high levels of catecholamines along with abnormal threat response. That stuff isn't occasional but structural, a continuous production of excess stress hormone and exhausting excitatory state. If alcohol or weed or opioids reduce that pain and bring stress down when nothing else seems to be able to, those are going to be used, and excessively. I've struggled with addiction and have a large extended family rife with it, it seems like the only option because so many personal, social, societal supports are missing and it sometimes is the only thing that'll lessen the noise and quiet the pain.
But for individual social supports there are comrades here around to talk and who've gone through maybe similar things, we're not alone.
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