Substance or alcohol addiction has a considerable impact on all spheres of a person’s life. There is no need to make a full list of all of them: any individual having an addict in his or her surrounding and anyone who has an experience of substance or alcohol abuse would prove that every aspect of life, starting from the relationship with one’s family and ending with economic situation, is impacted by addiction.
It is also apparent that the problem of drug or alcohol abuse is the problem of all genders. However, the vast majority of people would picture an exhausted and week male person at the thought of addicts. The same stereotype reigned in the sphere of scientific research. Unfortunately, women as half of the planet’s population have not been paid enough attention to in what concerns addiction-related issues until very recently. The scientists and social workers discovered that a woman going through an addiction could face some troubles that are not inherent to representatives of other genders.
The reasons for using drugs and drinking alcohol can be various, but they can still be classified. A person who starts to use substances or alcohol usually tries to resolve in such a way another problem. In most cases, lack of sleep, depression, continuous tension are used as excuses to try a prohibited substance. Nonetheless, it only creates new problems for occasional users who later become addicts. Understanding the troubles an individual female faces while suffering from addiction or undergoing a therapy will help elaborate effective therapy programs and policies in drug rehab centers for women (https://addictionresource.com/drug-rehab/women-only/ – a helpful resource to read).
Troubles women face experiencing addiction
There are several reasons why women are reluctant to seek help: taboos, low socio-economic status, but also children. Services are not adapted to this reality. On the other hand, once they get in the way of rehab, the same obstacle will become an important motivator. Women are often more motivated to recover for their children than they can be for themselves.
The substantial problem of women who experience any kind of addiction if stigmatization. They are mothers, spouses, friends, and employees who are expected to multitask between several spheres of life and look good and positive at the same time. In response to this stigma, women with addiction problems often keep silence, for fear of being judged by those who are around them. The more this shame dominates, the less they tend to ask for help. In this way, an addict or a person undergoing treatment often lacks tolerant and understanding environment.
Another set of problems is related to a women’s possibility to childbirth. Women entering treatment take care not only of themselves but also their pregnancy or children if they have any. It was stated that pregnant addicts require immediate intervention and support on their way to recovery. That is why it is crucial to provide drug rehab for pregnant women.
Problems of mental health, such as depression, anxiety or obsessive-compulsive disorder are more common in female addicts as opposed to men. Knowing those psychological instabilities often initially lead to substance abuse may help prevent addictions. Women are also more likely to be abused physically, sexually or psychologically. Thus, they try to escape these traumas with the help of substances.
The scientific research claimed that there were more female drug or alcohol abusers with eating disorders (anorexia, bulimia, and others) than physical or sexual abuse victims. It is difficult to state the initial cause, as the addiction itself is a psychological disorder.
How to make the path to recovery easier
This question may bother social workers and relatives of a female patient in the first place. First of all, it is highly recommended always to stay positive about the therapy process and its outcome. Secondly, it is important to eliminate any possibility of discrimination expressed in actions or words. The following principles should be part of the treatment philosophy for better results:
- The path to recovery should start with education and raising awareness of clients. For special facilities’ staff, it is essential to distribute information among a patient’s family members. If you are the one who starts rehabilitation, do not hesitate to share information with your closest ones. Hope and knowledge are essential elements in the early stages of treatment.
- The treatment process ought to be based on choice (for example, a menu with a variety of options).
- A female person undergoing the treatment process should be considered as a whole. It is not the problem of addiction that defines who the person is.
- Social interactions are important for every human being. It is highly recommended to avoid isolation and provide possibilities for a woman to connect with people, in particular with other woman and mothers, if the person under consideration is a future or an actual parent.
- The treatment program should be gender-sensitive. They are often provided by women only treatment centers, facilities suggesting rehab for pregnant women or rehab for women with children.
- Treatment should promote support, be egalitarian and non-hierarchical. Women’s groups receiving help from professionals, working together and growing together in an atmosphere of equality experience considerable changes in their psychological state. It is crucial for the success of a treatment program since mental troubles are a common cause of addictions.
- People surrounding a woman should encourage her to take charge of her life. Addiction is a person’s temporary weakness, but it does not determine her destiny. That is why it is important to respect one’s perception of the world rather than repress a person.
- The staff of recovery centers for women should display sympathy for clients and promote their sense of dignity.
- Each case of addiction is unique and requires an individual approach. Encouraging patients to participate in planning and developing goals helps improve and establish one’s self-esteem and counteract depression.
All things considered, to make one’s way to cleanliness means to realize a former addict’s strengths rather than focus on his or her weaknesses. Of no less importance is the fact that the process of rehab is individual, so each patient should be treated in a unique way considering all gender-based and other intimate problems that accompany addiction.
About the Author
Thanush Poulsen is a Danish blogger who is concerned about public health and stands for the rising people’s awareness of various diseases in modern society.