Addiction is a Form of Trauma
The Root of Addiction
Growing up, we were always told by adults: “Don’t do drugs, don’t smoke, don’t gamble, don’t drink — you’ll get addicted.”
Warnings like “Don’t end up like me” are common refrains, yet they fail to explain why addiction is so dangerous beyond the vague notions of dependency. This advice, although well intentioned, fails to address the root cause: addiction isn’t just about bad choices — it’s about a fundamental shift in one's perception of reality.
To truly address addiction, we as a society need to move beyond the narrative of self-control and abstinence.
Addiction is not simply a behavior; it is both a form and symptom of trauma. Until we can recognize this and communicate it effectively, we will continue to fall into the same traps as those before us.
A Shift in Reality: What Trauma and Addiction Have in Common
At its core, trauma is the inability to reconcile a sudden shift in one’s worldview. It is the mind’s struggle to integrate a new, painful, reality.
This is why childhood trauma is so prevalent, alongside trauma experienced by soldiers in war or those grieving the death of a loved one. Children, in particular, are highly susceptible because their worldview is still forming.
Let’s use physical and verbal abuse from a parental figure as an example.
When a caregiver — someone who previously represented safety, reliability, and guidance — instead becomes a source of existential fear and cause of physical pain, the child’s understanding of the world shatters. The traumatic aspect of the experience lies not only in the act performed on the child, but in the fact that this child is no longer capable of trusting even its own judgement. The trauma isn’t just the event itself; it’s the rupture in the foundation of their reality.
Addiction functions in the same way. The inexpressible highs of opioids, psychedelics, or an unexpected gambling windfall can be traumatic, not through pain, but by the way they distort reality.
Ask yourself these questions:
- Why would I return to a normal life after making a month’s salary on a single hand in poker?
- How can I commit to the struggles of building a future when one hit of this substance has provided the most euphoric experience of my life?
- Why would I focus on anything else when I know I can feel that again?
These moments don’t just create desire; they fundamentally alter your perception of the possibilities in life. The expected value of anything else in life just seems so astronomically low compared to what you could be working towards, if only you channeled that attention to your next high.
The Cheat Code That Breaks the Game
Imagine life as a difficult but meaningful game. You work, struggle, and improve, finding purpose in gradual progress. Then, one day, you discover a cheat code — a way to bypass the grind entirely.
At first, it feels like liberation. The rush of a big win, the high of a drug, the thrill of reckless indulgence — these experiences reveal a version of life that is effortless and euphoric. But soon, you’ll realise the game is broken.
What do you do when the cheat code no longer works? When your tolerance becomes too high, when six pills start to feel like two? When even millions of dollars no longer brings you the joy you once felt from winning a scratch ticket?
Overcoming addiction isn’t as simple as just getting over the withdrawals. The problem is that regular life now feels dull, slow, and unbearable. Work, relationships, responsibilities — all of it pales in comparison to the artificial high. Even if you understand the consequences, you struggle to care at all. The only thing that truly feels real is the pursuit of that mountain who’s summit you once stood atop.
This is why addiction is so insidious. It doesn’t just make you crave something — it warps your perception of reality itself.
The Way Forward
If addiction and trauma are so closely linked, what does that mean for recovery?
First, perspective has to change. Addiction is not simply a bad habit that you develop over time to be removed from a schedule; it is a trauma that needs to be healed. Just as a soldier returning from war cannot simply “get over it,” an addict cannot simply “quit” without addressing the underlying shift in perception.
Healing from addiction means rebuilding a world that makes sense without the high. It means finding meaning outside of instant gratification. And it requires compassion — not just for others who struggle, but for ourselves.
Until we address addiction as a psychological and emotional wound, we will continue to treat the symptoms while ignoring the cause. And if we fail to do that, we will keep fighting the wrong battle.
We must approach addiction as an assault on the psyche. Whether it’s drugs, alcohol, gambling, or any other form of excess, the high isn’t real — it’s an illusion. It has little foundation in the reality we usually operate in. It’s a chemically induced or psychologically fabricated state that tricks your mind into believing you’ve unlocked something greater, something more meaningful than everyday life.
At first, it feels like you’ve stumbled upon a hidden truth, a pathway to fulfillment. The thrill of a big win, the rush of a drug, the haze of alcohol — they all create an overwhelming sense that this is what life can feel like, what it should feel like. This is the deception in its truest form. These highs aren’t built on anything tangible. They don’t stem from genuine achievement, deep human connection, or personal growth. They exist in isolation, separate from the world you actually inhabit.
And this is the power of addiction — the power in its grip lies not only in the pleasure of the experience, but in the redefinition of pleasure as a whole. When the artificial high becomes the new standard, everything else is nothing. The world you once knew becomes muted and colorless. It’s not just that you want to feel that high again because it would be nice. It’s that it’s the only thing that even matters.
This is why the idea of simply quitting is naive. It’s not about willpower alone. Recovery isn’t just about removing the high — it’s about relearning how to exist in the world without it. It’s about finding meaning and satisfaction in a world that no longer operates in that same intensity. That’s the real challenge.
Until we start framing addiction this way, we will continue to treat the symptom while ignoring the cause.
Final Thought
If you’ve ever felt trapped in a cycle of addiction, or struggled to understand why others fall into it, ask yourself this: What if the world as you knew it had changed forever? What if the problem wasn’t just quitting, but learning how to live in a world that no longer felt real?
Because that’s what addiction is. And until we face it with that level of understanding, we’ll never truly break free.
