Women are more likely to drink in private and may experience faster physical consequences. They’re also more likely to use alcohol to cope with emotional pain or trauma. Adriana has contributed to a number of books and book chapters, including TJ Woodward’s Conscious Being Workbook and The Conscious Recovery Method™ Workbook, both of which she co-authored with him. Adriana also has a private practice in San Francisco and travels around the world coaching and facilitating transformational and empowering workshops.
Causes & Risk Factors of Addiction in Women
This biological difference means alcohol stays in your bloodstream longer, creating heightened exposure to potential health risks. The combination of slower processing and higher blood alcohol concentration makes women more vulnerable to alcohol’s harmful effects, even when drinking smaller amounts. Misusing alcohol can lead to an alcohol addiction in women, which is when you aren’t able to stop drinking alcohol despite a desire and effort to do so.
Single-gender treatment with female-specific programming
Those physiological differences, combined with the sharp increase in alcohol use and binge drinking, have made women particularly vulnerable to alcohol-related illnesses. Alcohol heroin addiction affects women differently than men due to biological and physiological differences. Women have lower body water content so when they drink the same amount of alcohol as men, their blood alcohol concentration is higher. So alcohol stays in a woman’s body longer and its effects are more pronounced..
General differences in how people’s bodies handle alcohol
In terms of physical health, alcohol use raises the risk of various cancers, breast cancer is one. The effects on heart health is also more pronounced in women, risk of heart disease increases at lower drinking levels. Alcohol related heart disease can develop faster in women than in men even with lower drinking. Certain demographics of women are more at risk of developing alcohol use disorder. Women from racial and ethnic minority backgrounds, especially those of low socioeconomic status are at higher risk of alcohol related problems.
They highlight the critical importance of the NIH mandate to include women in research and, more importantly, to enroll sufficient women to permit adequately powered analyses of sex differences and similarities. Importantly, they point to large gaps in information that urgently need research attention as rates of alcohol use by women increase and converge with those of men. No studies that tested DBT specifically with women who have co-occurring AUD and BPD have been found. Few studies have compared women’s outcomes from mixed-gender versus women-only programs that were not adapted with female-specific content. In one early study, Bride compared the outcomes for women who were in a mixed-gender program to the outcomes for women who later participated in the same program that had become a women-only program with no female-specific content.40 Outcomes were similar between the two samples.
- The health risks, from liver disease to cancer and brain injury, underscore the urgency of addressing this issue.
- These findings as a whole reflect the stigma around having an alcohol problem, and research indicates this stigma is alive and well.
The Rose House is the best facility for women’s recovery because it provides a safe and supportive environment specifically for women’s needs which increases their chances of successful recovery through a step down process. Certainly, no one should feel obliged to start drinking for the health benefits. There are plenty of other ways to safeguard your health, such as regular exercise, a nutritious diet, keeping your weight under control, and not smoking. But for women who enjoy alcoholic beverages, it’s important to know where to draw the line, and to be prepared to redraw it as you get older. For women in particular, there is a very fine line between healthful and harmful drinking—one that is easy to cross. While moderate drinking is defined as no more than seven drinks a week and no more than three on any given day, those levels aren’t set in stone.
Understanding these effects can help individuals recognize the signs of dysfunction and seek the appropriate help. Women absorb more alcohol and reach a higher blood alcohol concentration (BAC) than men because of biological differences. Women are catching up to men when it comes to alcohol consumption –and according to most experts, this isn’t a gender gap we want to close. If alcohol has started to change how you show up in your relationships, that’s a sign worth listening to. The absence of visible signs in your body doesn’t mean alcohol isn’t taking a toll and doesn’t make you crazy. Adriana is a certified hypnotherapist, Access Consciousness® Facilitator, and Neuro Emotional Technique (NET) Practitioner.
- Although some evidence-based treatments are available,103 the net can be cast even wider to include a range of health behaviors such as nutrition, sleep, exercise, smoking cessation, and use of benzodiazepines.
- Reasons for increased drinking in these ages include career pressures, workforce demands, and transitioning from college to the “real world”.
- Addressing addiction in a gender-specific context can ensure that women are aware of and access the resources and treatment they require to manage substance use issues.
- She sees a future where evaluating a person’s risk for alcohol-related diseases can be tailored to him or her as an individual.
Advances and Gaps in Treatment Development for Women
Using data derived from the 1979 and 1997 cohorts of the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, a recent paper by Williams and colleagues (2017) included in this ACER virtual issue examined changes in heavy drinking trajectories among men and women as a function of race and ethnicity. In contrast to a decline in heavy drinking among younger men, there was an increase in heavy drinking frequency among younger White and Hispanic women. In both cohorts, heavy drinking among Black women was lower than that of White and Hispanic women. There has been substantial research on women-only treatment with female-specific content. Compliance with the treatment was high (80% of heavy drinkers completed at least seven sessions), and women receiving intensive MI reduced their drinking more than women receiving standard MI.
Women are more vulnerable to alcoholism because of biological differences, such as lower body weight and less body water, leading to higher blood alcohol levels and longer-lasting effects. One of the benefits of choosing our women’s recovery program is that we understand the nuances women are facing in their recovery. Often, there are barriers that need to be broken down so a woman can overcome the stigmas that are stopping her from getting the help that she needs. Our supportive staff members are here to help you overcome the fear of judgment as well as logistical challenges (such as childcare and work obligations). Women who are struggling with AUD require specific treatments to facilitate their recovery.
From Detox to Outpatient: How Women Transition Between Levels of Care
They may hide how much they drink, normalize it with a laugh and a wine-mom joke, women and alcoholism or tell themselves it’s just a rough patch they’ll get out of soon. Whatever you’re experiencing right now, you’re not alone, and you’re not imagining things. Sometimes it means holding everything together on the outside while falling apart inside. Maybe you’re wondering if your drinking has become more than just a way to unwind. Or maybe you’re watching someone you love slowly slip away behind another drink. Calls to numbers marked with (I) symbols will be answered or returned by one of the treatment providers listed in our Terms and Conditions, each of which is a paid advertiser.
Medications can be prescribed to manage cravings and withdrawal symptoms during recovery. Alcohol detox with medication-assisted treatment can minimize these cravings and support the recovery process. Mentally women experience faster brain and tissue deterioration due to alcohol compared to men. This can lead to cognitive impairment and other mental health problems and make their recovery more complicated. These effects show the need for specialized treatment and support for women with alcohol addiction.
