Addiction of any kind is a serious and disconcerting disorder that alters the brain.
Symptoms of addiction may differ between humans as a result of age, sex, and time of addiction.
This article focuses on women’s addiction, differences, and similarities between addiction in men and addiction in women. Meanwhile, if you need one, see this one of the best substance abuse centers.
ADDICTION IN WOMEN.
Substance addiction in women differs greatly in women than men as a result of biological makeup. This is the reason why the rehab programs in the Primrose Lodge Rehab are tailored to the addict’s specific medical, emotional, and therapeutic needs.
Women who abuse substances identify with its use for purposes like:
- Weight control: Most women tend to gain weight as a result of childbirth or even age. Substance abuse is often substituted as a supplement for the missed calories.
- Battling Tiredness: Fatigue as a result of home tending and working simultaneously, is common in most women. To complete tasks, some women subject their bodies to the use of substances to meet up deadlines.
- Coping Mechanisms: The rate of women who abuse substances often use them as a means of coping with divorce, miscarriage, and loss of child custody, and mental illnesses.
- Mental health treatment: Self-treatment for mental health is not uncommon in women folk.
DRUG ADDICTION EFFECTS ON WOMEN.
Apart from the regular effects of drug addiction, women who are addicted to drugs often suffer the following:
- Hormonal challenges.
- Changes in the menstrual cycle.
- Fertility challenges.
- Miscarriage.
- Lactating challenges.
- Early menopause.
- Family problems
ADDICTION: GENDER DIFFERENCE.
Symptoms of addiction may differ between humans as a result of age, sex, and overall period of addiction.
Below are some of the drug addiction differences between women and men.
- Studies have shown that women use fewer substances for even less time than men before getting addicted. Therefore a woman may only use two shots of heroin within two weeks and get addicted as opposed to men.
- Women tend to have more physical effects and heightened severity than men. Some of the physical effects may be fluctuations in weight gain and loss, skin pigmentation, ageing.
- More women tend to die from substance overdose than men. While men may develop a psychiatric disorder or permanent brain damage, women could actually die.
- Relapse after treatment is often higher in women than men.
- Panic attacks and anxiety are higher in women with substance addiction than in me.
DRUG ADDICTION AND PREGNANCY.
Women with a substance addiction often have a lot of risks attached if they do conceive as the opioids and stimulants in illicit substances can harm an unborn baby. The stimulants in most substances cause drastic mood changes and neuro fluctuations such as high blood pressure and migraines.
Women who suffer from substance addiction find it difficult to carry a child to term therefore most pregnancies often result in miscarriages, premature birth or stillbirth.
Women living with substance addiction who eventually carry to term and deliver babies often have deformed children with smaller head sizes. A common deformity substances like marijuana can cause is neonatal abstinence syndrome(NAS). Some of the symptoms of NAS in a child are seizures, sleep difficulties, difficult weight gain, fever and excessive crying.
DRUG ADDICTION AND LACTATING.
Women with substance addictions often have some of the substance transmitted into their breast milk and as a result, impair their babies ability to learn or function mentally. Women who suffer from a substance addiction during pregnancy or before pregnancy should discuss with their gynaecologist about alternatives to feeding their baby.
CONCLUSION.
Women’s addiction to substances is only slightly less common to men substance abuse despite culturally gender assigned roles. The differences in risks attached to female substance addiction highlighted the need for unique and meticulous approaches and more female physicians.
I’m a 20-something stay-at-home mother and wife. I have an amazing husband, a beautiful daughter, two loving dogs, and a lazy cat. I wouldn’t change my life for anything! I love to read, listen to music, cook and blog!
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