Let’s Talk…Mental Health and Addiction

The recent passing of singer and reality TV star, Aaron Carter, highlights the dire need for
mental health and addiction to be at the forefront of the conversation for all of us.
No one gets to pick their parents. Your parents didn’t pick their parents and so on. As
counselors, we aren’t here to blame anyone. Shame and family secrets keep a lot of issues,
especially addiction, hidden behind closed doors.

When tragedy strikes, so many thoughts can run through your mind. He was so young. What
part did addiction play? Could you imagine having all of your life up for scrutiny? How can I
prevent this from happening in my family? What if this is happening in my family?

Mental health is important for everyone with a brain. There is no shame in coping with what
happened to you, the best way you could. There is great strength and bravery in asking for help.
It takes a lot of courage to tell the truth about what happened to you. It takes a lot of courage to
realize that what you are doing is not working for you.

It’s okay to ask for help. You aren’t expected to know how to deal with every situation in life. No
one receives a manual on how to navigate everything in life as a parent.

No one goes through life without incurring some state of “mental health” issues. Our brain is part
of body, yet often times mental health gets put aside as an issue that can only happen to some
people.

Here’s what we do know. The largest study of adverse childhood experiences, the ACES TOO
HIGH study, measures 10 types of childhood trauma. https://acestoohigh.com/ From their study:
“They uncovered a stunning link between childhood trauma and the chronic diseases people
develop as adults, as well as social and emotional problems.”

This is as correlative as smoking is to lung cancer. Not everyone that has trauma will become
an addict, but every addict has trauma.

The more we talk about addiction and mental health and the things that have a direct correlation
to these issues, and accept them as they are, we can move toward healing the individual and
the family. You can recover from addiction and you can heal from trauma.
Dr. Gabor Mate has said, “Trauma is not just what happened to you, it’s what happens inside
you as a result of what has happened to you.”

Each person deals with different events differently. There are many things that you can do to
help yourself and help your family and friends. The easiest thing you can do for someone you
know that is hurting right now is to be a kind, nonjudgmental listener. We are all in this life
together.

Things you can do:

Find a professional that specializes in trauma and addiction. You do not have to relive your
trauma to heal your trauma.

Call the Hotline if you are being abused. 800.799.SAFE (7233)
Find an AA or Al-Anon Meeting near you

Author: Marina Sbrochi