I disagree: war's a great example! War is traumatizing. I think self-medicating in the face of trauma is a natural response when other resources aren't availab

I disagree: war's a great example! War is traumatizing. I think self-medicating in the face of trauma is a natural response when other resources aren't available & it's not possible to escape the source of trauma. It's a survival mechanism that's no longer needed when the trauma's removed, or as you said, the person's no longer in the traumatic environment. While the drugs allow for survival, though, I don't think they prevent the sufferer from being traumatized. The drugs numb the pain, but not the effects, so PTSD could've still occurred, which can essentially bring the environment (and sometimes addiction) back home. I'm not certain "addicted" is accurate to describe we the soldiers who kicked the drugs because addiction has physical changes in the brain that come along with it.