Abuse

Addiction is one of the most misunderstood illnesses of our time.

People love to debate it—Is it a choice? Is it a weakness? Why can’t they just stop?
But the truth is far less judgmental and far more human:

Addiction is a brain disorder rooted in trauma, emotional pain, and neurochemical imbalance — not a moral failure.

And the most hopeful part?

The brain can be rewired.
Healing is possible.
Recovery is a biological and spiritual transformation.

When Addiction Begins: The Brain Trying to Survive

Most people don’t pick up a substance because life is good.
They pick it up because something inside them hurts.

According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), 75% of individuals with addiction have experienced significant trauma in their lifetime (SAMHSA, 2023).

Trauma changes the brain.
Addiction changes it again.

What starts as emotional band-aids—relief, escape, numbness—quickly becomes a neurological loop:

1. The dopamine reward system becomes overstimulated.

2. Stress and threat circuits go into overdrive.

3. The prefrontal cortex (the “stop and think” part) weakens.

4. The brain begins to prioritize the substance over everything else, even survival.

This is why “just stop” has never been an effective treatment plan.

Is Addiction a Choice?

The research is clear:

The decision to use may begin as a choice.

Addiction itself is not.

Once the brain is rewired by repeated substance use, the person loses much of their ability to choose.

The National Institute on Drug Abuse describes addiction as a chronic, relapsing brain disorder that alters decision-making, impulse control, and self-regulation (NIDA, 2024).

If someone’s leg was broken, we wouldn’t ask them to run.
If someone’s brain is dysregulated, we shouldn’t expect them to “just quit.”

The Rewiring: How Recovery Actually Happens

Recovery isn’t just sobriety.
It’s the slow, powerful process of teaching the brain a new way to live.

1. Neuroplasticity — the brain’s ability to change

The same pathways that addiction hijacked can be reshaped through new habits, therapy, routine, and connection.

2. Trauma-informed healing

When people heal their trauma, their nervous system calms.
The urge to self-medicate decreases.

Safety replaces survival mode.

3. Community and connection

Humans heal in relationship.
Connection triggers oxytocin and stabilizes the stress response—two things essential for rewiring a recovering brain.

4. Time and consistency

Research shows it can take 12–18 months for dopamine systems to rebalance after chronic substance use (Harvard Health Publishing, 2022).
That doesn’t mean recovery is impossible before that—but it shows why grace is essential.

Healing is not linear.
But every day, every choice, every moment of awareness is building new neural pathways.

A Personal Reflection from the Journey

I used to blame myself for the chaos in my brain.

I thought addiction meant I was weak, broken, or unworthy.
But the more I learned, the more I realized

I wasn’t trying to destroy myself.

I was trying to survive a storm no one else could see.

Recovery for me wasn’t loud or pretty.

It wasn’t a single moment of clarity.

It was small shifts—
choosing stillness over escape,
choosing truth over numbing,
choosing myself when I didn’t even feel worth choosing.

Every day I rise,
I’m rewiring something inside me.

Teaching my brain a new way to breathe.

A new way to feel.
A new way to live.

The Bridge Between Who You Were and Who You’re Becoming

Recovery isn’t a destination.
It’s a rebuilding — neuron by neuron, breath by breath, day by day.

You’re not fighting addiction.
You’re rewiring your life.

You’re shaping a brain that can hold peace.

A heart that can hold joy.
A nervous system that can hold safety.

And no matter how many times you fall, relapse, restart, or rebuild, the truth never changes:

Healing is possible.
Rewiring is real.
And you are not your addiction — you are your recovery.

Bigmommaj
#AddictionRecovery #Addiction

Hi, my name is DazzlingRobin3705. I'm here because I want to connect with others that have been through childhood trauma and abuse within relationships

#MightyTogether #Anxiety #Depression

She's getting ready to go to the office. It's 430pm already. I get so sad when she goes to the office. I just miss her so much when she goes to work.
I think I'll take a shower and a nap.
My dysphoria has been really bad today. I've been wrapped up like a burrito and... Oh. I'm sitting on lux. I was wondering why my butt was hurting.
For anyone who is unfamiliar with gender identity dysphoria... It's a strong negative reaction to having a body noncongruant with what aligns inside my head. I'm a guy. Clearly male. Except for my body. The feeling of being in the wrong body is very painful. Society doesn't see me as a guy. Even my mom still deadnames me and uses feminine pronouns. Except she corrects herself when talking about Pauley. I've told her I need packages addressed to Nox but she refuses. I'm so fed up with her. She has no clue how dangerous publicly deadnaming me is and she still doesn't care. I don't know how to get her to understand. I've been out as transgender to my family since Valentine's Day of 2009. That's 16 years of trying to just exist authentically.
I've been raped, beaten, drugged, and left for dead since coming out of the closet. Yet I persist. I don't know any other way to live.
My right hip hurts too much to handle. I've taken 4 CBD gummies today but they kinda just.. blew me a kiss and ran away. I also ate 2 tramadol around noon I think. My migraine went away thank goodness. My BG is pretty ok for the first time in a week. It's down to 168.
I want a cookie and some coffee.

How To Heal From Childhood Trauma

Healing from childhood abuse is often difficult because it involves a person acknowledging their trauma, seeking help from a mental health professional, practicing self-care like establishing a sleep routine, and eating healthy. Not to mention, building healthy support systems and learning how to use positive coping skills like exercising and practicing mindfulness. Oh and it is also important for a person that is healing from childhood trauma to have an understanding that healing is a non-linear journey with setbacks, which requires immense self-compassion and patience to transform past pain into resilience.

Hello, is this a new group? I thought there would be more members. I just decided to search for narc on a whim. Anyway, I just wanted to share that it’s really hard to see any good gesture from my father as just that. As much as I want to go back to that innocence I just can’t. I analyze everything, every encounter for slights and gaslighting. I wonder if I said too much and how it might get used against me in the future. I miss when I didn’t know he was a narc. But that was before my mother died and all his abuse was directed towards her, and he had me (and everyone else) fully convinced that she was the problem.
Can yall relate?

How To Heal From Childhood Trauma

Healing from childhood abuse is often difficult because it involves a person acknowledging their trauma, seeking help from a mental health professional, practicing self-care like establishing a sleep routine, and eating healthy. Not to mention, building healthy support systems and learning how to use positive coping skills like exercising and practicing mindfulness. Oh and it is also important for a person that is healing from childhood trauma to have an understanding that healing is a non-linear journey with setbacks, which requires immense self-compassion and patience to transform past pain into resilience.

How To Heal From Adult Abuse
Healing from adult abuse is a
nonlinear and personalized process that often takes time to get used to and learn how to navigate. With that being said, this personalized nonlinear process often involves a person prioritizing safety, seeking professional support, and practicing self-compassion. Not only that, but it is important for everyone to understand that healing from adult abuse also involves a person learning how to understand and regulate their emotions, build a healthy lifestyle and support network, and setting healthy boundaries with themselves and others. Furthermore, it is important for people who are recovering from adult abuse to do whatever they can to develop a sense of self and learn how to manage trauma rather than erase it.