Women Addiction on the Rise

Dr. Dalal Akoury

According to the report released by National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse, addiction is on the rise among women abusers in the United States. The report shows that about six million women are dependent on alcohol and about 2.6 million women drug abuse issues. The report shows also shows that the number of women abusing drugs has increased sharply over the last decade. This is because women have always felt stigmatized in the society. Some of them keep their drinking or drug habits a secret; a factor that can hinder the true statistics of women who abuse alcohol and other related substances.
Why Are Women Engaging More Than Ever In Addiction
Violence
The rate of sexual abuse and physical abuse, among women, continue to rise. Rape cases continue to be reported in various parts of the country. A part from sex abuse, others continue to be physically abused by their male counterparts. As a result of the above factors, many women result into taking drugs and other substances to help them forget what they underwent or what they continue to face in the society. In an attempt to maintain family or relations Most of the women who continue to stay in violent domestic relationships or those who grew up in violent homes continue to turn into substance abuse to cope with their life’s dysfunctional circumstances. They do so in an attempt to

Women Addiction on the Rise how does it affect the family?

maintain family or relations.
Emotional abuse or marginalization
In most relationships there is unequal distribution of household responsibilities and lack of empathy. In this kind of relationships, women are the one who are affected most. They therefore feel trapped in this relationship, unable to quite because of the reason to maintain family or relationship. These women seek ways to cover the pain of feeling under-appreciated thus resulting into abuse of drugs. They turn to substance abuse to help them achieve their own happiness. They think that by taking drugs, it gives them a sense of comfort, power and relief from to give them a sense of power, comfort and relief from depression over their dwindled relationship. Also, other women continue to grow up feeling stigmatized because of their gender. They feel disrespected for being female and as a result they lead into drug abuse.
Isolation

Pregnant Woman-Alcohol-Cigarette addiction

Factors like divorce, separation or where husband die leaving a woman to take care of children are o the raise in our society. The most affected party is women who feel lonely or isolated. You find that it is mothers who are left with a burden of caring children and when they feel that they are stressed up with the situation, they seek solace in drugs and other substances. They use drugs to help them feel forget about their partners, feel energized, make connections and feel loved. For example, a mother might initially begin drinking alcohol with friends, only leading to her addicted at the end. What begins as a social activity can quickly result into a social problem among women who feel that their sense of companionship or belonging is connected to their drug use.

White House Visits Christiana Care’s Substance Abuse Intervention Program (Photo credit: Christiana Care)

Women Addiction on the Rise; What is the role of lifestyle changes

Change in lifestyle
With an effort to feel part of certain social class or lifestyle, many women try hard to feel part of the ‘wine society’. They feel that by taking wine, they are not actually abusing drugs. In modern society women don’t want to feel like they’ve had their freedom and fun taken out of their lives by having children. They admire their past lives without children and attempt to feel young ones more. Their initial purpose is not to take drugs but wine which they recognize as being accepted as woman’s drink. But eventually they result into full abuse of alcohol and other substances.