Abstract
PTSD symptoms among adolescents are largely connected with early start of alcohol usage hence making it imperative to diagnose and treat PTSD-associated signs before they escalate to chronic levels. Children with a number of post-traumatic stress disorders are more likely to engage in alcohol abuse than adolescents who are not exposed to trauma. With alarming rates at which adolescents use alcohol, it is appropriate that research activities be undertaken to investigate the abuse of alcohol among adolescents with PTSD. It is imperative to reduce fatality incidences of PTSD by providing the necessary support from psychiatrics professionals, family members and colleagues who are key to motivating victims to adopt healthy lifestyles. This paper address the events that lead to severe alcoholism among adolescents with PTSD and ways through which interventions could be targeted to prevent escalation of the current situation.
There exists a high rate of comorbidity for PTSD and alcohol abuse disorders. Post-traumatic stress disorder cause anxiety among adolescents who opt for alcohol abuse as a way of consolation. Adolescents who are exposed to traumatic events are at risk of engaging in alcohol abuse as a way of self-treatment. PTSD symptoms among adolescents are largely linked with the early start of alcohol usage, hence creating need to diagnose and treat PTSD before they escalate to chronic levels. Children with a number of post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms are more likely to engage in alcohol abuse than the adolescents who are not exposed to trauma. With alarming rates at which adolescents use alcohol, it is appropriate that research activities be undertaken to investigate the abuse of alcohol among adolescents with PTSD. This paper discusses the factors that drive abuse of alcohol among adolescents with PTSD and the interventions to protecting victims from engaging in severe alcoholism.
There exist high rates of comorbidity between PTSD and alcohol abuse disorders. Avoidance coping is among the factors that present risks for development of comorbid PTS and excessive alcohol consumption among adolescents. PTSD and alcohol abuse are related with the rates of PTSD ranging between 28 to 55 % in adolescents keen to seek for interventions from drug abuse. Post-traumatic stress disorder is a condition where adolescents experience severe stress and anxiety after witnessing or being involved in traumatic events. The consequences of the trauma are that individuals tend to be out of control for their actions that lead to post traumatic stress disorder. Adolescents suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder are likely to consider alcohol as a way of solving their psychological problems. Adolescents have been found to develop a sense of dissatisfaction with the events happening around them and therefore trend to rely on alcohol abuse as a way of consoling themselves for life difficulties. Adolescents also tend to have painful and disturbing memories in case they experience traumatic events with the result being development of symptoms related to PTSD.
There exist no gender variations in the proportions of trauma exposure among adolescents thereby implying that both girls and boys are equally susceptible to PTSD. Symptoms of PTSD include; nightmares, flashbacks, severe anxiety, sleeplessness and tendency to develop aggressive behavior that prove that the victim could be out of control. However, other research findings have indicated that girls and women are more likely to rely on alcohol abuse to cope with traumatic conditions. Kingston and Raghavan (2009) studied the association between early beginning of substance misuse and sexual abuse trauma to PTSD. The study revealed that substance abuse is not associated with a past stage of substance abuse initiation. However, for adolescents who tend to engage in risky behavior after alcohol consumption, it is likely that they are at higher risk of developing PTSD. PTSD symptoms among adolescents are largely linked with the early beginning of alcohol usage, thereby creating the need to recognize and cure PTSD-associated signs before they escalate to chronic levels. Adolescents with a number of post-traumatic stress disorder are more likely to engage in alcohol abuse than the ones who are not exposed to trauma. This implies that those with more than five symptoms of PTSD are likely to increase their alcohol usage as a way of self-medication.
The symptoms of PTSD could be grouped into three categories including re-experiencing the events that occurred to the adolescent, avoiding incidences that evoke memories and symptoms of hyper arousal that include irritability, anger and severe cases of anxiety. Alcoholism is in the avoidance categories where adolescents opt for alcohol to avoid memories that interfere with their functionality. Severe alcoholism is connected to incidences of hyper arousal considering the high levels of irritability experienced by victims. However, many adolescents fail to realize the fact that over dependence on alcohol worsens their traumatic conditions as it exposes them to more physical and psychological damage. Considering the fact that alcohol is a central nervous system depressant, alcohol worsens the depressed state of adolescents thereby making them susceptible to risky behavior. The relationship between PTSD and alcohol abuse means that efforts need to be focused on early detection of symptoms to prevent onset of alcohol abuse among adolescents by ways of assessing the link between PTSD and traumatic incidences.
Methodology
The study involved reliance on secondary source to obtain information on the relationship between alcohol abuse and PTSD. Participants included adolescents between the age of 13 to 18 who had contacted PTSD as a result of neglect, abuse on them and those who had witnessed abuse that had psychological effects of their well-being. The secondary sources used included scholarly articles with findings on the link between adolescents’ alcohol abuse and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.
The study therefore was a qualitative one since it mainly relied on observed characteristics of adolescents who had PTSD and their reactions in terms of alcohol abuse.
Results
Exposure to traumatic experiences among adolescents is largely associated with alcohol abuse disorders. There are no sex variances in the proportion of trauma exposure in both girls and boys. In most cases, traumatic life experiences like physical, sexual abuse and incidences of neglect are the leading causes of stress among adolescents. The cases of abuse and neglect are increasing at an alarming rate which then raises the number of adolescents susceptible to alcohol abuse. Severe symptoms of PTSD are linked with childhood inattention, previous depression onset, and extreme depression as well as alcohol problems. Problems with alcohol include intrusion and avoidance symptoms where victims strive to prevent memories of previous abuse or aspects of neglect. Traumatic experiences are leading causes for deficiencies in cognitive capabilities and psychiatric illness that expose adolescents to alcohol consumption as a way of self-treatment. Post-traumatic stress disorder causes anxiety among young people who then opt for alcohol abuse to restore them to the state they would wish to be in. Adolescents who experience trauma and PTSD need to be subjected to early interventions to moderate their risk of engaging in post trauma alcohol abuse.
Discussion
The fact that alcohol provides a falsified way of numbing the pain and gaining control of the lives of the affected adolescents implies that victims could decide to drink higher volumes of alcohol each time symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorders emerge. The fact that there are major changes within the psychological system of the affected youth from the traumatic events experienced means that more time will be required to explore the cause of the PTSD and design mechanism that could be applicable to the specific case. It is important to understand the nature of events that lead to traumatic situations and the symptoms individuals show that are connected to post-traumatic stress disorder. Any post-traumatic stress disorders could strike affected adolescents at any time when they are reminded of the events which makes them more vulnerable to alcohol abuse. Those diagnosed with PTSD tend to experience stressful disorders such as depressions, attention deficiency, and chronic illness such as high blood pressure and diabetes.
It is important to reduce fatality of PTSD by providing necessary support from psychiatrics professionals, family members and colleagues who are key to motivating victims to adopt healthy lifestyles. The fact that adolescents with PTSD may be reluctant to seek treatment interventions due to guilt and shame means that there is a lot to be done in terms of designing effective measures to restore them to their normal condition. Once in the treatment facility, measures need to be put in place to ensure the affected adolescents are motivated to use recovery resources as required in addition to adequate support and encouragement from the treatment team.
Conclusion
There are high rates of comorbidity between PTSD with alcohol abuse disorders. Post-traumatic stress disorder cause anxiety among adolescents who opt for alcohol abuse as a way of forgetting the traumatic events. Adolescents who are exposed to traumatic events are at risk of engaging in alcohol abuse as a way of self-treatment. Measures need to be put in place for earlier interventions that prevent victims from engaging in post-traumatic alcohol abuse. Adolescents diagnosed with PTSD tend to experience stressful disorders including depression, attention deficiency, and chronic illness such as high blood pressure and diabetes. It is therefore important to reduce fatality of PTSD by providing the necessary support from psychiatric professionals, family members and colleagues who play a great role in motivating victims to adopt healthy lifestyles.
References
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