In addiction recovery and therapy, we often work through childhood issues. We may find that we’re still carrying confusion, fear, shame, grief, or the effects of trauma. Even people who had relatively happy childhoods may need to work through issues from their upbringing. When there’s significant trauma, that work can be even more painful, but it’s incredibly important.
Childhood trauma and addiction are closely linked. The Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) questionnaire tallies different types of abuse, neglect, and other forms of harm that people may have gone through as kids. A higher score is significantly associated with addiction; with each abuse, the risk of addiction to alcohol, opioids, or cocaine nearly doubles.[1] The likelihood of addiction is also significantly higher for people who grew up with parents that misused substances.
Connecting with childhood may be painful, but there can be joyful aspects to it. While kids’ attention spans are pretty short, they seem better able to get lost in whatever they’re doing. Their imaginations are often very vivid and easy to access.
If you have positive memories from childhood, try to remember the things that brought you uninhibited joy. Did you like playing imaginary games? Did you enjoy being active?
You might try journaling to remember what you loved doing, and then see how you can recreate that joy for your current self. For instance, if you liked getting lost in imaginary worlds, maybe you play D&D, take an acting class, or even watch a series you loved as a kid.
If you didn’t really get to have a childhood, that doesn’t exclude you from this process. You can give yourself versions of one as an adult. This doesn’t have to negate work you’re doing on processing trauma; it can live alongside that work. Perhaps try setting aside time to yourself that’s just for play. It takes work as an adult to cultivate playfulness, but it’s healing.
A way that adults can get lost (in a good way) is to find activities that bring them into a “flow state.” This is when you feel “in the zone,” and while you’re in it, a ton of changes occur in your brain. Activity slows in the prefrontal cortex—which is for higher cognitive processing and decision-making—causing choices to be more spontaneous and fluid. The dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, a part of the brain involved in self-monitoring, is deactivated. This helps you get more absorbed without critiquing whatever you’re doing.
I’ve found that when I’m not spending so much mental energy on getting or recovering from being wasted, I can connect more to curiosity and imagination.
If you are struggling with a substance use or mental health disorder, there is hope. TruHealing Centers offers high-quality treatment for addiction and mental health disorders in facilities across the country. Our staff—many of whom are in recovery themselves—will help you find joy in recovery. Call an admissions specialist at 410-593-0005.
[1] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2763992/
