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By Charis Truong
The Bay Area is an extremely high performing and competitive place academically, and many students are pressured to devote everything to their studies.
But what happens if a student, especially a high-performing student, faces trauma, such as a death in the family, a sudden job loss, or a health scare. This student can no longer keep up with the standards they have held for so long.
Research by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) shows childhood trauma and drug usage are correlated. According to an article from NLM, people with more childhood trauma or sexual trauma were more likely to have “an earlier age of first intoxication, and reported more severe substance use.”
The article also reports the extreme difference in the amount of drug usage people with trauma have versus the ones without trauma. People who experience childhood trauma were more likely to be more heavily involved with drugs.
The same goes for childhood abuse from parents or caregivers, such as physical neglect and verbal abuse. According to the National Institute of Medicine, people who are abused as children “have a 4.3–fold higher likelihood of developing a substance abuse disorder.”
Without proper resources to cope, people who are facing trauma turn to unhealthy coping mechanisms. Drugs can be an easy way out – a way to escape pain and pressure.
Often young adults dealing with trauma don’t have people to turn to or ways to get help and cope with pain. These young people are forced to cope in silence and expected to transition back to the life they used to live. However, that’s not always possible for many because things that used to be easy are now difficult, they may be depressed and their priorities have changed.
As a community where academics are often heavily pushed onto students, it is important to ensure resources and support are available to anyone who has experienced or is dealing with trauma and lessen any pressure from everyone to perform highly in school.
This article was written as part of a program to educate youth and others about Alameda County’s opioid crisis, prevention and treatment options. The program is funded by the Alameda County Behavioral Health Department and the grant is administered by Three Valleys Community Foundation.
