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The Impact of the Social Environment on Addiction & the Neurobiology of Trauma 

Anthony R. Zenkus, LMSW

The opioid crisis is a local and national health emergency, yet society’s approach to this problem ignores its main cause: that disruptions in our social environments, such as trauma from abuse or societal oppression, cause profound changes in our bodies, brains and stress response systems that make widespread addiction more likely.  This presentation explores how Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and trauma are linked to a wide range of negative outcomes and risk-taking behaviors, including substance use/misuse.  In order to combat addiction we must have an understanding of the neurobiology of trauma and how our bodies respond to social suffering. Anthony Zenkus will present a framework for looking at and treating addiction that draws on the latest scientific evidence that addicts are created, not born, and that meaningful changes in our social environments can heal addiction as well as prevent it from happening in the first place.