Oftentimes when you dig deeper in people with addictive behavior patterns, you find a lot of trauma.

Substance use is what we call a “solution behavior” --- meaning it’s used to manage some kind of uncomfortable feeling. That’s why we try to look a little closer. What feelings are we trying to manage/cope with here?

When painful life events get stuck in us, they live there and they create sore spots. When those sore spots get poked, all of those feelings from those events come out. 

Then we have to do something about it. What do we do? Turn to drugs or alcohol often. But there are better ways to manage trauma and build resilience. This episode dives into several.