Long Ride Home

HAPPY SATURDAY PEEPS❤❤! Weekend nights are the sole force of motivation getting me through working days! I hope you're enjoying your weekend and making best of everything. So a couple of days ago I uploaded a Instagram story regarding Drug/Alcohol Addiction. I was shocked how some people reacted. So, I decided that we all need to attend one class about the not widely discussed topic, "FEMALE SUBSTANCE ADDICTION."
 
Today in this class we'll discuss the LONG RIDE HOME: GENDER, ADDICTION, WAR.

"Addiction is an adaptation, it's not you, it's the cage you live in."

 Female substance abuse is no longer a myth. It's a ground reality which is well supported by facts. It's sadly a serious and continuing illness, which is spreading right under our noses just because we restrict ourselves from talking on this particular issue. 15.8 million females have used illegal drugs in the past year. 4.6 million females have taken prescription drugs nonmedically during the past year. Still think it's a taboo? Well, weight these facts before saying YES, because every 3 minutes, a female goes to emergency room for prescription painkiller misuse or abuse. These ladies are just like your friends, sisters or even mother. They are like you and me, they just got lost somewhere, deviate from their path. That's all.

Now the question is why do they walk down on this path? Female are likelier to use drugs to cope with problems, relieve negative feelings, reduce tension, boost confidence, enhance sex and reduce weight. When going through long-term treatment for any specific injury or disease it's easier to get addicted to prescribed painkillers. Also when someone has a history of trauma, just to find escape from those terrible times, they are forced to abuse the drugs. Another reason is when females fails in coping with stress situations they find relief in substance dependence. In younger girls when they are going through their adolescent years due to peer pressure, social pressure and due to low self esteem they fall into this trap of promising escape. Last but the most important one is the lack of parent/child communication. Now in this case the dependent can be anyone of the two. During their journey on this path they are actually going through hell disguised as heaven.

It must be strange to know that females who abuse drugs/alcohol do so for significantly different reason than males. For this very reason, gender-specific treatment is a absolute necessity in the treatment. It's also shocking to know that females use and respond to substance differently than men, such as smaller amounts of certain substance before they become addict. And the harsh reality is that females faces special challenges that makes dealing with addiction difficult. There are many barriers that a female faces in seeking and accepting treatment. That's one of the main reasons that females are less likely than males to seek treatment and more likely to face gender based partiality during treatment. The most important aspect of recovery is the idea of acceptance, and most of the times due to the fear of being the disgrace for the family a females restricts herself from reaching out for help.

We are well aware of the physical and psychologically side effects of drug/alcohol addiction has on an individual. Depression, anxiety, terrible mood swings, cancer, elevated blood pressure and many more harmful side effects. Substance use can also increase the risk of  miscarriage during pregnancy, also the chances of still birth is two to three times greater in women who abuse substances during pregnancy. You'll be shocked to know that this illness has cost 1,015 infants their lives during 2005-2009.

Drug/alcohol addiction is not something you should be ashamed of. It's not your fault if you find it difficult to quit. It's absolutely okay if you relapse. You are so much more than just someone dependent on substances. Help is always available to overcome this problem. It's just like bad throat and flu, a disease nothing more. Let's not be scared of the word, we'll not allow it to have so much power over us that we do nothing to help our sisters, daughters, mothers, wives and friends. We'll make it our responsibility to teach them that NO. Educate them about the risks of substance abuse. We won't let them lose this war. With love, patience and motivation addiction can be defeated. Dependence can be changed. Just don't give in, remember those faces, voices, movie scenes, book lines, that fight song, and keep reminding yourself that you deserve better than this. We are reaching out for you.
Class dismissed.