Addiction to Trauma and the Piranha Theory

Victims who return to their abuser or who do not leave a dangerous situation are often referred to as being “addicted to their abuser” or “addicted to trauma.”  The concern with using this statement is that given the stigma connected with addiction to substances this description of a survivor of abuse can appear to be victim blaming.  The victim is seen as seeking out the abuse as a means of feeding some sort of need rather than placing the blame on the perpetrator or perpetrators who have significantly impacted the brain chemistry of the victim in a way that resembles the addiction process.

According to Bessel van der Kolk quoted in Sandra Bloom’s article Trauma Theory Abbreviated, ”one hypothesis is that people can become ‘addicted”’ to their own internal endorphins and as a result only feel calm when they are under stress while feeling fearful, irritable and hyperaroused when the stress is relieved, much like someone who is withdrawing from heroin.  This has been called ‘addiction to trauma.’”

The important distinction to make is that this “addiction” is a physiological response caused by the actions of another individual as a means of power and control.  The victim does not seek out the pain.  Instead the victim is seeking relief from the tension that builds when an atmosphere is calm.  In fact, it may be important to recognize that calm and safe surroundings can feel threatening to a trauma survivor and this creates a greater risk of returning to the abuser.

Although the addiction hypothesis explains the physiological origins of the behavior, it may also be helpful to look at what is happening emotionally and psychologically.  Admittedly, this is becoming harder to differentiate as we learn more about the brain, but it can be helpful to our understanding of victim/survivors.

The Piranha Theory - When a person grows up in an environment that is dangerous physically and/or emotionally, it results in the physiological responses noted above.  In addition, skills are learned in order to cope with the environment.  These may include the physiological response of dissociation and other responses such as lying, manipulation, running away, withdrawal and isolation, or over achieving and enhanced competence.  In other words, when a person grows up in fish bowl of piranhas a great number of responses are developed in order to stay safe in that environment.

Now imagine that a person with the skills to manage piranhas is moved to safety.  Rather than feeling safe, the person is going to be looking for the hidden piranhas.  She/he does not believe that there are no piranhas so she may feel ambivalent about giving up the behaviors that controlled the environment in the past.  The survivor may be looking for danger at every corner because that is what she is used to.  This is causing and is caused by a physiological response that is a reaction to perceived danger, real and imagined, and experienced previously. 

Being trauma responsive in our work with survivors includes providing safety and stabilization in addition to refraining from actions that could re-victimize the person.   Physiological stability cannot be achieved as long as the person is on an emotional roller coaster of stimulus and response (Bloom, 1999).   Once a person feels stable physiologically, she can then start the work of changing behaviors that correspond to the new environment.  This takes work and giving up old behaviors when there is constant fear and worry that the perpetrator is still around the corner.  Our acknowledgment of this struggle and assistance with stabilization is infinitely more productive than labeling a person with an “addiction to trauma.”