LICR Blog

Addiction In Women and How To Create Hope For Those Afflicted

April 11, 2022  |  Category: Addiction Treatment

Addiction is a life threatening challenge faced by all of those it afflicts, but addiction in women presents a unique challenge which we will examine further today. LICR will review the added factors women must deal with when facing their battle with addiction, and explain how a tailored approach and aptly unique support program can help lead to their success.

The Unique Challenges Faced By Women Dealing With Addiction

It is critical to understand the unique factors that women face when dealing with addiction. These factors can be groups in to main areas, which include biological factors and societal factors..

Addiction In Women: Biological Factors

Women’s bodies develop differently than men, their hormones, chemical make-up, they are all unique, and the way women’s bodies respond to addiction and treatment are no different. Below are a few biological factors experienced when analyzing addiction in women:

• Women become physically dependent faster due to the way women metabolize drugs and alcohol
• Women also use a smaller quantity in the beginning
• Women may be more susceptible to cravings and relapse
• Women have less stomach enzymes and more fatty tissues, which slows the body from processing drugs and alcohol. This causes the body to experience higher levels of the substance longer
• Women tend to top out using larger quantities than men, leading to worse health outcomes.

Addiction In Women: Societal Factors

Addiction in women comes with its biological risk factors, but society also plays its part in contributing to a woman’s battle with addiction. Whether its stigma, traumas, or societal roles, there are added factors that when face when dealing with addiction, some of which are listed below:

• Being a survivor of sexual trauma
• Being a victim of domestic violence
• Anxiety
• Depression
• Divorce
• Losing custody of children
• Death of spouse or significant other

Taking What We’ve Learned To Effectively Treat Addiction In Women

If you are a woman dealing with addiction, or you know a woman who has become afflicted with this terrible disease, it’s important to know that this is not their/your fault. Whether life or science has contributed to the state of addiction, you should also know, there is a way out. The same unique challenges that women face when battling their addiction can lead to their path of sobriety. It should be noted, that no singular treatment style while work for each individual, but ones that readily work best for women in particular are as follows:

• Women need support in their treatment program. As natural caregivers, women assume responsibility and blame for their addictive behavior. It is not their fault. They need build up and believe in their own self-worth, their own self-value, and self-efficacy throughout their treatment
• These beliefs will not occur on their own. For this reason, addiction in women should be treated with advanced forms of supportive therapy
• Many times, women struggle to put themselves, and their battle with addiction, ahead of the needs of their family, but addiction detox and sobriety is not something that can be solved with only partial effort. It will take your full focus, fight, and determination, and for this reason, we suggest Childcare Solutions be put in place for women with children. This will allow you to fully focus on the task at hand so you can be your best self in the future
• Whether you think it or not, it is a fact that events in your life contribute to your current state. A divorce or battle for custody can be one of, if not the most difficult events a person faces in their entire lives. It can feel like an endless battle, and one in which no party truly wins, but where women with addiction struggle is compounding their issues, putting it all on themselves which only makes matters worse. If these, or any other matter may be contributing to added stress or struggles in your life, we suggest you get Legal Support to lighten the burden. It is a legal team’s job to take on these challenges, and relieving yourself from these stressful duties can only help you focus on yourself and your treatment
• Women need medical assistance by those trained to recognize and respond to women’s unique healthcare issues in early recovery.
• We’ve talked at length about how women may self-internalize, taking on all the blame and responsibility for their own. It’s important to acknowledge and change this mindset, but the same applies to your addiction treatment, in the sense that you are not alone. Depending on your current situation, Family-Based services, group therapy, and family activities to strengthen your home base and the life you will be returning to following your treatment builds on a platform for long lasting sobriety
• Addiction treatment for women is a mindset, and it does not happen by chance. Workshops and Training exercises should be put in place and routinely attended to empower women on their road to recovery

Treating Addiction In Women At Long Island Center For Recovery

At Long Island Center For Recovery (LICR), we endorse what we preach, and have tailored our facility and treatment plan to suit a women’s needs when battling their addiction. Women feel comfortable to share without judgement, openly and honestly in our supportive environment. Our Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW), Linda, is our primary clinician for women and leads several empowerment activities and group therapies which are pivotal drivers to a woman’s eventual sobriety. These include the following:

• Arts & Crafts
• Gym Time
• Weekly Woman’s Vibrational Sound Therapy Sessions
• Women’s Spiritual Circle Sundays
• “Women’s Group” which is led by Linda five times per week, and all women attend her group.

An inpatient treatment facility can set you on the path to sobriety but can only do so much. At the end of the day, sobriety is your decision and yours alone. Whether you decide to take the advice given here today, to enroll yourself or a loved one into an inpatient facility such as Long Island Center For Recovery, or any other next step, the choice is yours. We of course believe in our facility, the team here at LICR, but most of all, we believe you. Regardless of your decision, below are a few lasting tips to keep in mind as you seek to better yourself:

Addiction In Women: Tips For Sobriety

• Being open and honest about your recovery reduces stigma
• Build a strong community with other women
• Turn your struggle into an achievement
• Let go of resentments
• Practice spirituality daily
• Make self-care a priority
• Recovery is a process of healing, give yourself grace

We hope you found this information was helpful, and if you need any additional assistance, or know someone in need, please reach out to us at 631-728-3100, and we’d be happy to assist you or your loved ones in any way possible.

Posted in:   Addiction Treatment