Trauma Reminders and the Urge to Drink: What a New PTSD Study Shows

A song on the radio. A smell in a hallway. An anniversary date on the calendar. For people living with trauma, a reminder can show up out of nowhere, and the feelings that come with it can be fast and heavy. For many of us in recovery, that is exactly the moment an old thought creeps in: a drink would take the edge off.

A recent study in the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs looked closely at that moment. It helps explain why some people with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) feel a much stronger pull toward alcohol after a trauma reminder, and it points to a skill set that can help.

What the researchers did

The study, by Lauren R. DiPaolo, Tatiana D. Magri, Lidia Z. Meshesha, and Jennifer P. Read, was published online May 29, 2026 (read the abstract; the full text is free on PubMed Central).

It was a secondary analysis of an online study with 101 adults who had been exposed to trauma and had used alcohol. Most of the sample were heavier drinkers. Participants were sorted by their PTSD symptom scores: 19 landed in a PTSD group and 82 did not.

Here is how it worked, in plain terms:

• A trauma reminder. Participants spent about 20 minutes writing about their worst traumatic experience, in the present tense, with details about thoughts, feelings, and body sensations.
• A “how much would you buy” test. Before and after the writing, they completed an Alcohol Purchase Task. It asks how many drinks you would buy right now at prices ranging from free all the way up to $1,120 a drink. Researchers call the result “alcohol demand.” It is a way of measuring how much a person values alcohol in that moment.
• A personality trait called negative urgency. The authors define it as “the tendency to become more impulsive in the context of negative emotional distress.” In everyday words: when I feel bad, I act fast and think later.

What they found

For people in the PTSD group who scored high in negative urgency, alcohol demand went up after the trauma reminder, even after accounting for where they started. They said they would drink more, keep buying at higher prices, and spend more overall.

For people in the PTSD group who scored low in negative urgency, two measures actually went down after the reminder. That suggests a protective effect: having PTSD did not automatically mean a bigger pull toward alcohol. The difference was in how people tend to react when distress hits.

The authors conclude that “Individuals with PTSD and high negative urgency value alcohol more in the context of trauma-cue elicited negative affect.”

What this study does not prove

The authors are upfront about the limits:

• The PTSD group was small (19 people).
• PTSD was measured by a self-report checklist, not a clinical diagnosis.
• A writing exercise is not the same as a real-life trigger.
• Participants reported what they would buy. Actual drinking was not measured.

The authors say the findings need to be repeated in a new sample. So treat this as an early, useful signal, not a final word.

Why it matters for recovery

The encouraging part is that the risk sits in the space between the feeling and the action. The authors note that people with PTSD and high negative urgency may benefit from approaches that reduce impulsive reactions to painful emotions, such as Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), and that treatment can work on emotion regulation and psychological flexibility. Skills can be learned.

In Success-Full, I wrote, “It is much easier to stay sober than it is to get sober.” Planning for the hard moment is part of staying sober.

Practical steps for people in recovery and families

1. Know your reminders. Write down the dates, places, sounds, and conversations that tend to stir up trauma. Seeing them on paper takes away some of their surprise.
2. Plan the first ten minutes. The pull is strongest right after a trigger. Decide ahead of time what you will do: call someone, step outside, splash cold water, breathe slowly, or get to a meeting of your mutual support group. A recovery acronym shared in today’s Your Daily Reprieve fits here: PAUSE, “Postpone, Action, Until, Serenity, Emerges.”
3. Get trauma-informed help. If trauma and drinking travel together for you, ask a licensed professional about PTSD treatment and skills-based therapy such as DBT. Many clinicians recommend working on both together.
4. Families, lead with calm. If someone you love is triggered, this isn’t the moment for a lecture. Stay steady, help them get to their plan, and encourage professional support.
5. Use crisis support when you need it. If distress turns into thoughts of self-harm, call or text 988, the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline in the United States.

For more on sitting with hard feelings without acting on them, see Stop Fighting Your Pain and Feelings Aren’t Facts. If trauma runs through your family story, It Runs in the Family, But It Can Stop With You is a good next read.

Scripture offers this promise for anyone carrying old wounds: “He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.” Psalm 147:3 (ESV)

Here’s my question for you: What is one thing you can put in place this week so the next hard moment finds you ready?

Go, Go, Go… Dan 🙂

Books quoted in this post:

• Success-Full, Living Life with Purpose: Recovery Mode: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CL5BQR7J?tag=happyrecove0e-20
• ESV Holy Bible: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1433503832?tag=happyrecove0e-20

As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

This post is for general education and is not medical or mental health advice. Please talk with a licensed professional about your own situation.

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Reflection note: I wrote this from research I follow. Quotes and findings belong to their original authors and sources (DiPaolo LR, Magri TD, Meshesha LZ, Read JP, “Negative Urgency Amplifies Alcohol Demand in Individuals with Posttraumatic Stress Disorder,” Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs, published online May 29, 2026, https://doi.org/10.15288/jsad.25-00269; PAUSE acronym via Your Daily Reprieve, November 8; Psalm 147:3, English Standard Version; Success-Full). I used AI to help organize it and reviewed it before posting.