How Substance Abuse Affects Your Brain

Individuals who suffer from trauma-related psychological problems may sometimes turn to substance abuse to get numbing effects for relief. Whether it is to feel less inhibited in social situations, or to be able to get a full night’s sleep, alcohol is a popular, albeit harmful, way to self-medicate. As such, many victims of trauma come to abuse alcohol.

However, alcohol can cause serious damage to the brain, some of the effects being permanent. If you are experiencing problems with alcohol use, consider some of the ways you may be harming your brain.

Effects of substance abuse on your brain

Memory

Although for some of us, memories are a prized possession, those who have experienced a traumatic event in life may feel differently about them. However, having a good working memory is important for optimal daily functioning.

Excessive alcohol consumption has a significant effect on the hippocampus, the brain region responsible for encoding and storing memories. It can also interfere with the memory encoding process, thus making it hard to form new memories. Lastly, excessive alcohol consumption can make it hard to retrieve already existing memories.

These effects can be felt in your work performance, learning activities, and even personal relationships.

Insomnia

It may feel like alcohol helps you to help; however, excessive alcohol consumption actually has the opposite effect, by causing frequent awakenings throughout the night due to physiological arousal and stimulated brain activity. This usually leads to vivid dreams, some of them unpleasant, which decrease your ability to get a tranquil, full night’s rest.

Eventually, excessive stimulation to the brain caused by alcohol abuse can lead to a decreased ability to fall and stay asleep. This may lead to a variety of cognitive and emotional issues, such as memory problems, irritability, paranoia, and delusion.

Social Skills

Victims of trauma may use alcohol in social situations to help them to take the edge off. However, long-term alcohol abuse causes individuals to decrease their ability to act in social situations. Those who fall into substance abuse often show impairments in perceiving emotions, hearing speech intonation, and understanding humor, which leads to an inability to interact with other people.

Depression

Depression refers to a prolonged period of time of feeling hopeless, lonely, apathetic, and devoid of energy. Although scientists have long believed that depression led people to alcoholism, new studies show an inverse relationship. Alcohol, by causing our brains to release excessive amounts of mood-regulating neurotransmitters, causes our brains to eventually release less feel-good chemicals, which can lead to one feeling depressed.

Trauma and Beyond can find a solution for you

It may seem like the effects that alcohol has on the brain are permanent. However, it is never too late to seek treatment to stop the damaging effects of alcohol and other substance abuse, or to reverse it altogether. If you are experiencing difficulties with curbing your alcohol consumption, don’t wait to do further damage. Please contact us at Trauma and Beyond to speak to someone who can help you overcome your problems with alcohol abuse.