A big wooden gate leads to a large garden with tiled patios. Whenever new patients walk into this serene atmosphere, usually accompanied by close family members, I feel as though I already know their stories. I know that they come from chaos but may choose not to talk about it.
I know that they lost control over their lives and suffered a great deal of pain but also inflicted pain on their loved ones and probably on strangers, too. My professional experience had taught me that they were also severely traumatized and probably suffer from the ramifications of both developmental traumas troubled relationships usually with primary caregivers and shock traumas events such as car accidents and assaults. Although both kinds of clients may have difficulties identifying or describing their developmental issues, due to extended periods of intoxication addicts are only able to recall some of the shock traumas they endured.
In fact, many addicts have no recollection of events they were involved in during time of active addiction. While part of this memory loss can be attributed to dissociation a defense mechanism in which a person is detached from emotions, memories or sensations as result of painful traumatic events, memory loss for short or extended periods of time not necessarily trauma related can also be attributed to excessive use of alcohol or drugs.
If we consider the fact that substance abuse leads to impaired judgment and a higher chance for risky behavior such as driving under the influence and unplanned sexual encounters, it is quit probable that addicts expose themselves to further trauma although they might not be able to recall what had happened. In fact, clients consistently share stories of waking up in surreal circumstances. One of my clients realized he had spent the night at a cemetery as he was waking up after a long night of drinking beer.
Another client woke up in a hospital after undergoing a hip surgery. These types of events are typical and reoccur again and again in the course of the chaotic active addiction, which often goes on for years and years. In short, this experiment involved a man who has lived in a group home for the mentally disabled since he suffered severe brain damage to his limbic system his temporal lobes including the amygdala and hippocampus, which affect emotions and short term memory.
