The Lexington-Herald Leader, in Kentucky, recently wrote an interesting article about women and recovery. The article, written by Mary Meehan, talked about how addiction affects women differently than men and the other issues that often go hand in hand with substance abuse and women.
Sexual abuse, domestic violence, depression and posttraumatic stress disorder are among the top issues that women are dealing with along with their addiction. In fact, one study showed that 70% of alcoholic women seeking treatment had experienced some kind of sexual abuse compared with about 12% of men. These issues can become even more difficult to deal with once a women stops drinking or drugging.
A woman using illegal drugs is “a good target for a predator,” said T.K. Logan, a researcher with the Center on Drug and Alcohol Research at the University of Kentucky. “They know that you are either not going to report it or you are not going to be believed.”
The article notes how women metabolize alcohol differently and so get drunk faster; how they become addicted more quickly; how women are more likely than men to be prescribed narcotics; how they develop alcohol-related diseases more rapidly than men; and how drug and alcohol treatment has been geared towards, and created by, men.
According to the article, “without a spark of motivation, without the belief that the work needed to stay clean and sober will create real, positive change, recovery is threatened before it begins.”
Crossroads for Women focuses on substance abuse treatment for women and builds upon and respects women’s unique needs. Articles like this show that us that women’s treatment is important and that more gender-specific treatment should be offered to women through the country.
Read the article: ‘You can’t teach them hope’
More on women’s treatment
Why women’s treatment is important
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