Why is it that some succumb to drug or alcohol addiction and others do not?
Well, we’ve known for a while that there’s a genetic link. But could something else be a significant contributor?
According to a study released by the Centers for Disease Control and confirmed by Kaiser Permanente and others – there is something else.
And it was discovered by a researcher, Dr. Vincent Felitti, seeking to understand the leading causes of obesity.
After questioning some 17,000 patients in California to understand whether they had gone through any of ten traumatic experiences that can happen to a child – from neglect to violence to rape, he uncovered data he first thought was an error.
Felitti found that a person who experienced any six or more of the ten classes of childhood trauma were 4,600 percent more likely to become an IV [injecting] drug user later in life than a person who experienced none of them.”
One might ask – how many children experience six or more childhood traumas?
The final research report showed that children who experienced even one of the categories of childhood trauma were two to four times more likely to grow up to be an addict – and multiple traumas produced an immense risk.
The results of this research raise some really important questions.
What if we had taken the $1 trillion spent on the failed U.S. drug war and spent it on helping abused children instead?
Each year in America, some 686,000 kids are reported as having been abused or neglected.
Some become addicts, then ostracized and abused further.
Perhaps it’s time to stop asking addicts what’s wrong with them and instead ask them what happened to them?
If you are struggling with an addiction to drugs and/or alcohol and need help in Connecticut or New Hampshire, the recovery teams at Aware Recovery Care are here to help. Our unique model of personalized, family-centered in-home care is giving clients a better chance of recovery when compared to traditional inpatient rehab care. To learn more or to talk to one of our Recovery Specialists, visit www.awarerecoverycare.com.
