We’ve heard more and more about cyber-bullying over the past few years.

PTSD is a common precursor to substance use disorder. When a traumatic event plays through your mind on repeat, it can make sense to attempt to quash those fears with substances in any way possible. Drinking or using drugs can help you to cope in a negative way. A positive method of coping might be to exercise, practice yoga, or get some sleep. Those types of coping methods work over longer periods of time, while a negative coping method like getting drunk every time you feel triggered by your PTSD will only exacerbate the problem. Sure, a negative coping method will work at first. But over time, you’ll develop a dependence on drugs or alcohol if that’s the method you choose.

For those who experience PTSD, the disorder stems from a traumatic event. Many who experience a traumatic event, especially at a young age, can erase the event from their brain, because it is too difficult and negative to process. It can take years of therapy before an individual is able to address the trauma they experienced head-on. But when that traumatic event occurred, it also triggered a very powerful fight-or-flight reaction, which can rear its head any time an anxiety-producing, stressful event occurs.

Not everyone who chooses to use substances will become addicted, but if you have a preexisting mental condition, addiction is all the more likely. The more often you experience negative flashbacks or anxiety surrounding a traumatic event, even from a long time ago, the more you will want to rid yourself of those negative symptoms.

We now know that bullying can be a seriously traumatic event that can impact the development of a child in the formation of their self-esteem. Youth who are bullied will grow up to have anxiety and potentially anger problems. This can affect interactions, friendships, and wreck their ability to trust others,and “research shows that bullying is corrosive to children’s mental health and well-being, with consequences ranging from trouble sleeping and skipping school to psychiatric problems, such as depression or psych osis, self-harm, and suicide.”