Understanding this link can be crucial in helping trauma survivors move away from harmful coping mechanisms like smoking. In this article, we’ll explore the connection between trauma exposure and smoking as well as a few ways that individuals can recover from the habit.

There are a number of ways trauma and cigarette smoking are connected.

Smoking to Manage Negative states

People who have undergone traumatic events experience high levels of stress. This occurs when avoiding triggers or when they’re in danger. The body produces stress hormones, like adrenaline, resulting in a fight-or-flight response that numbs the senses and dulls the pain.

Being in a constant state of stress can take a toll on an individual, so they may choose to smoke in order to cope. Cigarettes can temporarily relieve negative feelings, activating reward pathways in the brain that regulate reinforcement and pleasure. Thus, these individuals may feel motivated to smoke whenever they encounter triggers or distress.

Trauma can make smoking harder to quit

Smoking, in itself, is a hard habit to stop. Many factors can make it difficult to quit smoking, including experiencing withdrawal symptoms like restlessness and cravings. Smokers may also encounter outside triggers that urge them to smoke, such as seeing other people with cigarettes.

For individuals who have experienced trauma, however, quitting the habit can be even more challenging. The pleasant feelings that come from smoking can be impactful, causing them to constantly reach for cigarettes to avoid negative emotions. Additionally, they can be more susceptible to their triggers than people without trauma, resulting in smoking more often.

Still, individuals who smoke due to trauma should try to recover from the habit. Smoking can be dangerous to overall health, and addiction could possibly lead to additional stressors in the future. Here are some ways they can start their recovery:

Taking Steps to Recover

Nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) provides an individual with a tobacco-free nicotine product to use in place of traditional cigarettes. Nicotine pouches and patches are common NRT products.

As one of the more popular NRTs, nicotine pouches are placed between the lip and gum, and many brands are developed especially for American consumers who need a smoke-free nicotine product to help them quit. ZYN and On! are popular in the market, as they come in strengths ranging from 2mg to 8mg, so users can adjust their dose accordingly. Next, nicotine patches are transdermal products that reduce withdrawal symptoms and cravings. These can stick to the skin for up to 24 hours, giving users a steady dose of nicotine. Nicoderm CQ and Habitrol come in dosages of 7mg, 14mg, and 21mg, depending on the user’s preferred consumption. By using NRT products, individuals with trauma can gradually shift away from smoking for better health and seek healthier coping mechanisms.

Undergo behavioral therapy

Behavioral therapy is a ​​treatment that trains a person’s reactions to stimuli or triggers. It can address addiction and trauma by encouraging individuals to examine recurring negative thoughts and replace them with healthy ones.

A mental health professional can guide an individual through this process by recommending potential effective coping strategies aside from smoking. For instance, a therapist or counselor can advise aversion therapy, which involves pairing an undesirable behavior with an aversive stimulus. A person can be prescribed smoking cessation medication like Varenicline that prevents them from feeling pleasure when using cigarettes. By undergoing behavioral therapy, individuals can form healthier coping strategies that will benefit them in the long run.

Find Support

Having a support system consisting of loved ones and people with similar experiences makes the recovery process less isolating. This support can motivate an individual to seek better ways to cope with trauma other than smoking by having a space to share their experiences and get advice from others.

Aside from family and friends, there are PTSD support groups like CPTSD Community Safe Group, connecting people with PTSD worldwide, and MyPTSD, which is a forum that delivers news, information, and community support for survivors.

While quitting can be difficult, trauma survivors with smoking habits should maximize the above strategies and aim for complete smoking cessation. By doing so, survivors can more easily find alternative pathways to healing, without compromising their health and the health of the people around them.

Guest Post Disclaimer: Any and all information shared in this guest blog post is intended for educational and informational purposes only. Nothing in this blog post, nor any content on CPTSDfoundation.org, is a supplement for or supersedes the relationship and direction of your medical or mental health providers. Thoughts, ideas, or opinions expressed by the writer of this guest blog post do not necessarily reflect those of CPTSD Foundation. For more information, see our Privacy Policy and Full Disclaimer.

Bette Jaeger

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a psychiatric disorder triggered by experiencing or witnessing a traumatic event. Among the symptoms associated with PTSD are sleep problems, which BMC Psychiatry points out occur in as much as 70 to 92% of those with PTSD. These commonly cause shorter sleep duration and poorer sleep quality. However, PTSD and sleep are more interconnected than you may think — the previous night’s sleep can affect the next day’s PTSS (post-traumatic stress symptoms). So to help improve PTSD, good sleep is necessary. And to improve your sleep, you’ll need to identify what problem/s you have and what you can do to alleviate them.

Common Sleep Issues for People with PTSD

• Insomnia: Insomnia refers to the difficulty of falling and/or staying asleep despite being tired and is the most common sleep disorder among those with PTSD. Sarah Covert shares how insomnia is the body’s response to trauma by keeping you alert in case of danger. It’s a lingering effect of having been in a situation that required constant vigilance. Insomnia can be accompanied by the anxiety of having to go to bed due to the possibility of experiencing intrusive thoughts or flashbacks while trying to sleep.
•  Hyperarousal: Hyperarousal is a severe PTSD symptom that’s characterized by extensive jittery feelings, inability to concentrate, and paranoia. SymptomFind, a health and wellness site that catalogs common and uncommon ailments, discusses the problem of waking up in the middle of the night. They cite psychological causes as the main reason for hyperarousal, in which a person can wake up sweating excessively, with a rapid heartbeat and shortness of breath. This is also associated with nightmares, sleep apnea, and insomnia, which PTSD sufferers commonly experience. A person can be more sensitive to their environment even while sleeping as the brain may register stimuli as a possible danger
• Nightmares: Dreams help experiences become integrated into long-term memory. These can also simulate events and let us try different responses, and this can help a person cope. The same is true for nightmares, which are an intense expression of our body trying to work through trauma. Nightmares related to PTSD usually subside after a few months. But sometimes, the brain has difficulties in managing the fear response, which causes long-term repetitive nightmares.

How to Address PTSD-Related Sleep Issues

• Develop a good sleep environment: One main reason that people with PTSD have sleep problems is that we’re most vulnerable when we’re asleep — so by keeping awake, we’re sure that we can stay out of danger. Because of this, it’s important to create a sleeping environment where we feel safe. A quiet and dark bedroom works best, having as few stimuli as possible that might cause you to wake up. But you can tweak your environment depending on what calms you. For example, if your trauma is connected to the dark, you can use dim lights in the bedroom so you can still see your surroundings without affecting your circadian rhythm.
•  Improve lifestyle habits that affect sleep: Practicing good sleep hygiene can help reduce PTSD-related sleep problems. The Sleep Foundation suggests following a consistent nightly routine, such as unplugging from electronics and winding down 30 minutes before going to bed, to help put you at ease before sleeping. It’s also a good idea to have healthy daily habits, such as being physically active and getting some sunlight and fresh air. Having routines during the day helps support your circadian rhythm, which may limit sleep disruptions.
•  Seek professional intervention: If your sleep problems are getting better despite your best efforts, it’s best to consult a professional. For those with insomnia, you may undergo CBT-I (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia), which focuses on cognitive restructuring and stimulus control to help them associate the bed as a place for sleep and rest. Meanwhile, Frontiers in Psychology talks about how lucid dreaming may help those experiencing nightmares. By being aware that they’re having a nightmare, they may be able to actively influence the dream to make them less threatening.Sleep disorders in people with PTSD may be common, but they should not be left unaddressed. Explore our site here on CPTSD Foundation to see how you can get professional help.

Specially written for cptsdfoundation.org by Bette Jaeger

Bette Jaeger

Many don’t realize how vital nurses often are in PTSD recovery. When it comes to this topic, there’s a sort of standard image that comes to mind. It typically involves a mental health professional performing cognitive therapy or exposure therapy on a patient (usually in a calm, cozy room rather than a typical doctor’s office or hospital alcove). This isn’t far off from what treatment can be like, and these types of therapies can in fact help people suffering from PTSD on their way to recovery. At the same time though, the standard image is also a little bit limiting, in that it tends to exclude other professionals — like nurses — who play an important part.

The truth of the matter is that nurses can be involved in virtually every aspect of the treatment process. They might be among the first responders if incidents occur with those suffering from PTSD. They may be patients’ first point of contact in a hospital or doctor’s office, and in some cases, they may help to practice therapeutic methods themselves. As with so many other areas in healthcare, the role of nurses in PTSD recovery is multi-faceted.

Because of this though, it can also be said that the true role or responsibility of nurses in PTSD recovery is to be trained, prepared, and primed to provide whatever care is possible. In this respect, three distinct types of preparation come to mind:

Self-Care

First and foremost, it is vital for nurses in a position to be involved with PTSD care to make sure that they are taken care of mentally. This is a concept that was touched on in a prior post on first responders for CPTSD, particularly in the time of COVID. As that post pointed out, the public has long ignored the mental health of those who care for and rescue them. Accordingly, it is all too common for first responders — including nurses — to be mentally burdened without having the time or inclination to address it. These are stressful, trying jobs, and unfortunately, it is often the case that they leave professional caregivers in no condition to help others (at least temporarily). Because of this, one of the most important things for any nurse involved in PTSD to do is to practice self-care and monitor personal mental health and wellness.

Higher Education

Another important initiative for a nurse involved in PTSD care can be to pursue higher education and degrees in nursing. This might once have been an unreasonable ask for a working nurse, but at this point, there is extensive opportunity for even practicing RNs to earn higher degrees and qualifications online. Specifically, online RN-to-BSN degrees now set nurses up to take on roles in management, education, and advocacy, which can lead to a more active part in organizing and directing PTSD care. Similarly, some with MSN degrees can seek out specialized instruction that may be directly related to treating PTSD. By no means are we suggesting that it’s nurses’ responsibility to pursue these options. But for those hoping to take a more active role in PTSD treatment and recovery, it’s another step that can be part of the process.

Treatment Flexibility

Lastly, nurses in a position to impact PTSD patients also need to remain open to some flexibility with treatments. For one thing, we know already that while exposure therapy is a sort of primary “go-to,” different patients will respond better to different situations. Additionally, there is always ongoing research producing potential new treatments, such as improved exposure therapy based on a better understanding of the brain’s learning processes. Basically, PTSD treatment is a dynamic field, and it is the responsibility of caregivers in the said field to remain open to change and adaptation, provided it is grounded in appropriate reason.

The role of nurses in PTSD treatment and recovery is vast, multi-faceted, and too often overlooked. It is a demanding role though, and one that is best approached with consideration of the practices and ideas discussed above.

Post specially written for cptsdfoundation.org

by Bette Jaeger

Guest Post Disclaimer: Any and all information shared in this guest blog post is intended for educational and informational purposes only. Nothing in this blog post, nor any content on CPTSDfoundation.org, is a supplement for or supersedes the relationship and direction of your medical or mental health providers. Thoughts, ideas, or opinions expressed by the writer of this guest blog do not necessarily reflect those of CPTSD Foundation. For more information, see our Privacy Policy and Full Disclaimer.

Bette Jaeger