The Relationships between Early Trauma, Dissociation, and Alexithymia in Alcohol Addiction

Over time, the brain’s attempt to adapt to alcohol’s effects creates a fragile equilibrium, where even small stressors—or attempts to quit drinking—can provoke severe dissociation. While most alcohol-induced dissociation is temporary, studies note that individuals with a history of heavy drinking are three times more likely to develop persistent dissociative symptoms than occasional drinkers. This risk is compounded by co-occurring conditions like PTSD or generalized anxiety disorder. Investigators worked with 334 adults at an Ontario in-patient program for PTSD treatment. The researchers used statistical analysis to explore the influence of dissociative symptoms on the relationship between PTSD and alcohol-related problems, and in the context of specific PTSD symptom clusters.

What Are the Risks of Alcohol-Induced Dissociation?

The sample consisted of 77 women who completed the Dissociative Experiences Scale (DES; Bernstein et al, 1986) as part of a larger assessment battery on entry into a study on outpatient women with PTSD and substance dependence (Najavits et al, 2004a; Najavits et al, 2004b). One 2020 study explored the direct and indirect links between types of childhood trauma to PTSD and alcohol misuse. If you or ptsd and alcohol abuse a loved one is struggling with alcoholism and co-occurring PTSD, recovery is possible.

Social Adjustment Scale

In many cases, those with PTSD may resort to alcohol to cope with symptoms they find unbearable. While alcohol initially offers a sense of relief, it eventually compounds the problem, trapping individuals in a cycle of trauma, alcohol usage disorders, and deteriorating mental health. And of course, if someone is using alcohol to mask drug addiction treatment the symptoms of PTSD, that means they may go longer without realising they have PTSD, so the root cause of the symptoms goes untreated. Dissociative disorders are mental health conditions that involve experiencing a loss of connection between thoughts, memories, feelings, surroundings, behavior and identity. These conditions include escape from reality in ways that are not wanted and not healthy.

Data Availability Statement

When compared to before their deployment, excessive drinking is more common among military veterans who have suffered from war stress. Alcohol-induced amnesia, or blackout, is when a person cannot remember events that took place while they were under the influence of alcohol. For those seeking addiction treatment for themselves or a loved one, all phone calls are confidential and are available for 24/7 help. All calls generated from California area codes will be answered by Refine Recovery, a paid advertiser. All calls generated from area codes in every other state will be answered by The Healing Place, a paid advertiser.

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There was no compensation for participants as assessments were part of standard care. The research database was approved by the Homewood Research Ethics Board (REB #18‐07). A total of 402 clients completed the clinical intake battery between September 2017 and November 2019.

While transient episodes of these sensations are common—often during extreme stress or fatigue—persistent derealization or depersonalization may indicate a dissociative disorder. These conditions are categorized in the DSM-5 and affect roughly 1-2% of the population, though subclinical symptoms are far more widespread. Derealization makes the world seem foggy, dreamlike, or distorted, as if reality itself is unfamiliar. Sensory distortions, such as sounds feeling muffled or colors appearing washed out, often accompany alcohol-induced derealization. Individuals might describe feeling like they’re observing their life through a foggy window or that their environment lacks emotional resonance.

In this article, we’ll explore how alcohol can cause dissociation, its effects, and how to get help if you’re struggling with it. Alcohol use frequency and alcohol‐related problems experienced over the past 12 months were measured using the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT), a 10‐item self‐report screen assessing the frequency and severity of alcohol use (Saunders et al., 1993). The AUDIT assesses both consumption of alcohol (three items) and problems related to alcohol consumption (seven items). As such, typically within the literature, the AUDIT is referred to assessing alcohol‐related problems rather than consumption. Scores on the AUDIT range from 0 to 40 and a cut‐off of eight or greater indicates clinically hazardous alcohol use. The sum score on the AUDIT was included as the outcome variable in the mediation model.

• Analyses of frequency were performed regarding potential traumatic variables related to the COVID-19 pandemic.
• The researchers then used statistical analysis to explore the influence of dissociative symptoms on the relationship between PTSD and alcohol-related problems.
• This construct is complex and multidimensional and is often considered as a transdiagnostic psychopathological factor 41,42.

Loss of Control

That is, a significant number of people suffering from PTSD also have a substance use disorder. This implies that using alcohol or drugs is a form of self-medication among traumatized people. But what is not so well understood is the relevant pathway or mechanism that is used by those who have PTSD and turn to alcohol and drugs. Understanding more about the pathway from trauma to substance abuse could potentially inform and expand treatment options as well as increase the effectiveness of substance abuse treatment.

It has been speculated that substance use and early withdrawal may be confused with dissociative symptoms (Langeland et al, 2002), although we do not know if this occurred in our sample. To measure dissociation levels, the Italian translation of the second version of the Dissociative Experiences Scale (DES 68,69) has been administrated to https://masseriacaselli.com/end-stage-alcoholism-life-expectancy-of-an-3/ all participants. This self-report questionnaire, consisting of 28 items with an answer response scale ranging from 0 (0% of the time) to 10 (100% of the time), evaluates the frequency by which the individual experience dissociative experiences in daily life. Because the factorial structures of the instrument are still a matter of debate 70, a conservative approach has been selected, using the original three factorial structure of the instrument.

• For instance, the few studies that explored the topic of mediators linking emotion dysregulation to alcohol consumption highlight the role of metacognitions towards alcohol use 55, drinking motives 56,57, and depressive symptoms 58.
• It is important to note that alcohol can be both a trigger and a coping mechanism for those experiencing dissociation.
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• Some may indulge in a nightly glass of wine but find it challenging to stop at one.

A subset of these measures was analyzed in the present study, as described below. A wide body of literature points to dissociation as a highly salient feature of PTSD, where the DSM‐5 including a dissociative subtype of PTSD that must be explored in any patient presenting for clinical assessment of the disorder (American Psychological Association, 2013). Here, dissociation is thought to involve detachment from immediate somatic or environmental experience, occurring during acute trauma and thus modulating its immediate psychophysiological impact (Spiegel, 2012). Put simply, dissociation is a psychological escape when no physical escape is possible (Putnam, 1991). Typically, individuals with the dissociative subtype of PTSD present with a history of more severe early‐life trauma (Stein et al., 2013) and higher PTSD severity scores (Wolf et al., 2012) than those without the subtype.