YORKTON - Addictions are almost always related to the trauma we have faced in life, sometimes stretching back to before we actually remember.
That was one of the key aspects Paul Noiles shared before his 90-minute presentation at the Visionary Hub in Yorkton last week.
There may not be a memory of trauma in the formative years, but “the body holds all,” said Noiles. “. . . Pre-verbal trauma it’s in the body.”
Noiles, an Awakening/Recovery Coach based in Saskatoon, said the core issue with trauma is ultimately “what it does to you inside . . . People with trauma are disconnected. . . The internal injuries have to be healed.”
And the healing is about what is inside.
“All healing for trauma is in the body,” said Noiles.
The actual trauma, for example injuries from a car accident, will heal, but the effect might be felt inside long after broken bones and stitches heal. The inner pain does not always heal as easily and that can have sent people to seek ‘fixes’ to that pain; drugs and alcohol being examples.
The substances are a way to hide from what is really wrong.
“A person uses a substance of choice because they don’t know, or like who they are at a subconscious level,” said Noiles.
It then becomes a process to understand where the self dislike comes from.
“All pain is about the past,” said Noiles.
In that regard Noiles said people have to come to the point where they are willing to look to see what in one’s past is really at the heart of the pain. It is not always an easy thing to do, but to move forward in terms of healing is to understand where the pain actually originates.
Since the root cause of addiction is usually pain, Noiles said “the idea of what addiction needs to change.”
In that regard Noiles said people need to look at the substance they abuse and understand what it is they like about using it, what it does for them, so they can find the best support to replace that and properly deal with past traumas.
For more insights on trauma Noiles has penned a book Mistaken Identity available through
The event at the Visionary Hub was also a fundraiser for Bruno’s Place in the city.
