The relationship between trauma and substance abuse, or in our case, PSTD and self-medication through drugs and alcohol, is well-known. Some "sobering statistics" about substance abuse and veterans -- pun quite intentional -- follow here:
- Substance abuse rates are higher among veterans than their non-veterans counterparts.
- 76% of all homeless veterans suffer from drug, alcohol, or mental health problems (National Survey of Homeless Assistance Providers and Clients, 1999).
- According to an Army Post-Deployment Reassessment Study completed in July of 2005, alcohol misuse among soldiers rose from 13% among soldiers to 21% one year after returning from Afghanistan and Iraq.
(These statistics from the excellent fact sheet at the National Veterans Foundation - "The Lifeline for America's Veterans" -- called "Facts about Veterans: Needs and Solutions." Click here for the link to the fact sheet; click here for the link to the organization.)
There's even at least one scholarly book written on the subject, Trauma and Substance Abuse: Causes, Consequences, and Treatment of Comorbid Disorders, edited by Paige Ouimette, Ph.D., and Pamela J. Brown, Ph.D. Washington, D.C.: American Psychological Association (2003). [Editor's note: "comorbid" means "appearing together."]
In a review of it by psychiatrist Edward J. Khantzian, M.D., of Haverhill, Massachusetts, he writes that his experience, "spanning four decades of clinical work involving patients with substance use disorders," has led him to conclude that "suffering is at the heart of addictions. Nowhere is this more evident than with individuals who have developed posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and resorted to addictive drugs to medicate the distress and pain associated with PTSD."
In future blog posts, we'll cover this topic in greater depth, but for the present, it's important to note how closely intertwined the two concepts are: if combat trauma or PTSD is a "normal reaction to abnormal events," it's no surprise that so many veterans of combat attempt to medicate the most troubling and painful experiences away through misuse or overuse of drugs and alcohol.
(The blog post's title comes from the country song, originally written by Vince Gill, and performed by Bob Seger and Kid Rock on Seger's latest album, Face the Promise. To see a video of Seger and Rock singing this in concert recently on YouTube, click here.)
The toll free number for the National Veterans Foundation is 1-888-777-4443.
