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Addictions can be understood as a strategy for emotion regulation. In this paper we will focus on how emotion regulation skills are constructed during early brain development. We will outline the major stages and principles of early brain development, with a particular focus on the impact of the first 1,000 days of life, which neuroscience has highlighted as being of key importance in the construction of emotion regulation. Based on knowledge of attachment theory and traumatic memory, we will describe the impact of traumatic experiences during the first 1,000 days of life, and how these experiences can represent a factor of vulnerability to later addictive behavior. We will use the example of Lifespan IntegrationTM to illustrate how it is possible to treat very early traumatic memory and thus improve emotion regulation in a person with borderline personality disorder, severe emotional dysregulation, and significant addictive behaviors (alcohol and marijuana abuse, bulimia).