The Root & Impact of Trauma: Awareness of the Emotional & Psychological Root of Addiction.
Updated: Aug 21, 2023
At it's root the emotional, psychological and spiritual layers of trauma is the same as ego-identity. Not knowing who we are as presence is the core trauma of a human being.
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It's no secret when it comes to the impact and the adversity of overcoming traumas it is more widely accepted to focus on the physical layer than the more auspicious and evolutionary challenges of emotional & psychological traumas. It is usually hidden, avoided and labelled with a certain stigma but is similarly just as widespread and sometimes also in connection with physical trauma. This aspect of the human condition is in desperate need of observation and awareness, more so than we realise, for the peaceful existence of the world & generations to come.
Throughout the daily life some beings are consciously aware of the subtle mind stream that can appear in the background of our human experience from time to time. For most trauma survivors this mind stream energy tends to fluctuate a great deal more intensely than the average person. It can appear for them as if they are operating in a permanent state of post traumatic stress, hyper-vigilance, intense anger/rage, dissociation or shutdown. If these states are identified with or believed in without any awareness they can be become excruciatingly unbearable.
There are many layers when it comes to emotional & psychological trauma and how it manifests in someones life but the root cause is always the same. If these traumas are not given space or allowed to be processed and released then quite often one of the ways an underlying trauma manifests itself into the dynamic life is through some form addiction. Almost anything can become an addiction if someone unconsciously sees the behavior as a way of coping in an emotionally unstable situation or environment. Some typical forms of addiction due to unprocessed trauma are:
Obsessive compulsive behavior
Anorexia nervosa, bulimia
Anxiety, excessive planning & strategising
Workaholic tendencies
Over indulgence through gambling, spending money, travelling
Excessive alcohol, drug use, smoking, junk food
Sexuality used for attention & control
Severe competitiveness
Addiction to chaos, drama, toxic though patterns
Overuse of technology (screen time)
Addiction at it's root is the avoidance of acknowledging and releasing an underlying fear or sadness that stems from identification with a traumatic event or experience. This can stem from any experience that the consciousness of a human being identifies with as something of importance to who they are or who they believe themselves to be. These experiences are interpreted in an unconscious way both physiologically and psychologically with remnants leaving an effect on the nervous system & distortions created in the mind.
The tendencies that arise in someone's consciousness due to this avoidance of releasing painful trauma is a way that the conditioned mind operates in order to feel as if it's in control of life. It's imaginary layers of control are covering up an idea it has about itself as a form of protection, except what it actually does in reality is it causes more pain & trouble in someone's life than if they were to look, connect with & release the underlying sadness or fear being held within. It is created unconsciously as a form of protection but without awareness the trauma survivor ends up suffering it and not living with the natural flow of life. What is needed in these situations is for trauma survivors to be immersed in an environment that is safe, energetically spacious, & evolved enough to allow for these emotions to be acknowledged.
The most common emotional trauma usually begins in early childhood and even sometimes birth with how and if a child is loved and taken care of as an infant. There comes a time in a child's life when the first thoughts & ideas of separation are believed and this becomes a part of their experience. The very first close loving relationship with a mother, father or caretaker becomes energetically shut off from the child in an emotional/psychological way. This can occur due to a painful experience associated with that specific person or sometimes the reason is temporarily unconscious or unknown. These painful experiences that occur for a child can be emotionally or physically abusive but in other cases it's just a part of the nature of life and it's stages of evolution. Evolution meaning the idea of who we are as an ego-mind construct begins to develop or take shape at early age of childhood in order to eventually be transcended. It's not necessary to know the exact point in time that these ideas of separation first came into play. All that's needed is to look at what is being presented at this moment in time right now and know that what is to be seen & healed in someone will come up to be released when they are ready in divine timing.
Another deeper layer or aspect of emotional/psychological trauma is that as a developing child there is an interpretation or belief that love and attention are the same thing. The evolutionary process of a human being or what we call 'waking up' is to transcend these beliefs as we age and discover that the need for attention or the need to be in constant interaction to feel loved is actually a state that belongs to the ego-mind construct. Most human beings today are still operating from this belief and need for attention. If a child doesn't receive the loving attention that's needed growing up then throughout it's life it will be constantly in need of feeding a false belief of 'If I'm getting constant attention and interaction from someone or something then that means I exist and I am loved'. What is causing most suffering in the world today is that most adults are growing up physically but not maturing out of this egoic state.
If this state of identity or ego-mind is not seen with awareness it can create an enormous distortion of imagined separation from the heart and affect someones's natural state in life of feeling a sense of safety and grounded embodiment. To mature out of this state is to begin discovering that love is actually the space of yourself, love is already here within you as the existential presence that exists in everyone. Being immersed in this discovery, in this loving space of yourself, it is so powerful that attention from other is no longer needed to feel loved & fulfilled. In a very natural and most beautiful way toxic tendencies of addiction or bad habits will begin to subside in this seeing, eventually dissolving all childhood traumas and false beliefs.
On a more subtle level of consciousness a human being will create the sense of a problem in order to experience transcending it. However the state of the world presently is that unnecessary problems are being presented inside the mind for no reason other than to distract and make you believe there is a problem that needs solving or fixing when in reality there is actually nothing happening. This play is very similar to what appears when a trauma survivor is triggered from a past experience. In these situations a threat is perceived to be happening so the mind fluctuates into a state of hyper-vigilance or shutdown. The more that these states are observed with detachment the trauma survivor will eventually come to see that by not believing in these fluctuating states they begin to diminish in their imaginary power.
"Dissolve yourself into the Self and the world is taken care of. If you want to help the planet live that life of compassion for all beings, live that life of love."
~ Papaji ~
Also known as post traumatic growth, it is usually the beings who have suffered the most through trauma that are able to grow to the highest states in emotional strength and maturity. It will catapult their path of ascension into transcending these false egoic states by dissolving into the fulfillment & discovery of who they really are.
If seen in the clearest way it is not a curse but a gift. Ancient healing traditions of the Native Americans were tuned into and aware of how physical & emotional traumas also have their root in the more subtle energetic & spiritual realms. The sages of India were awakened to seeing that the root cause of all suffering is the belief "I am this body". Not knowing who we are as presence, beyond ego-mind, is the breeding ground of illness. Upon discovering this your most painful trauma can become your fuel and opportunity for spiritual awakening.
If someone genuinely has the courage and is ready to look in order to heal their trauma help will most certainly come. Sometimes it just comes down to whether someone has suffered enough and are they ready to face the underlying fear in order to be free of it's unreality. The poison runs deep in the collective consciousness and can even be carried over from past generations or incarnations. Transcending trauma will be the greatest gift you could give to yourself, your generational line and to the world.
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