Women’s drug rehab programs exist to help women who suffer from addiction and substance abuse problems. The Director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, Dr. Nora Volkow, has stressed the importance of understanding the sex and gender-based differences regarding drug abuse in order to better target prevention and treatment approaches.
Destination Hope understands these differences, and that is why they have a drug rehab program that provides the most effective treatment approaches available to help women recover from addiction and dual diagnosis issues.
Women are more prone to addiction but less likely to seek help, further fueling the importance of qualified and experienced women’s drug rehab programs.
Prescription Drug Addiction Among Women
Prescription medications are the second most abused drugs by women, second only to marijuana. Statistically, women are twice as likely as men to become addicted to prescription medications, and 2 to 3 times more likely to be prescribed the most commonly abused medications.
These include narcotic painkillers such as OxyContin and Vicodin; sedatives such as Xanax and Valium; and stimulants such as Ritalin, Adderall and Dexedrine.
There is often a misconception that prescription drugs are safer because they are prescribed by doctors but this is not true. Prescription medications are important in the medical world for treating pain, mood disorders, sleep problems and other ailments but all drugs have side effects some of which are extremely dangerous.
For painkillers, there are some that lead to physical dependence after as little as one week when taken exactly as prescribed by the treating physician. Furthermore, as tolerance increases or symptoms do not lessen, women often find themselves increasing the dosage of the medication or taking it more frequently without a doctor’s consent.
This type of behavior may seem innocent because the drugs are treating a legitimate medical condition, but it is drug abuse and can lead to addiction. Overdosing is a serious concern when someone is addicted to prescription medication. In fact, 43 percent of all emergency room visits for drug overdoses are caused by prescription medications.
Prescription medication abuse and addiction is dangerous and has become a widespread problem throughout the United States according to the National Institute of Health. Many seeking help from women’s drug rehab programs do so when they become addicted and begin abusing a medication that they were originally taking for legitimate, medical purposes.
Women Are Less Likely To Seek Help
Despite being more prone to addiction, women are less likely than men to seek help for their problems. This can be for many reasons. Women tend to worry more about their responsibilities such as family. Women may also avoid seeking the help of a women’s drug rehab out of fear.
They may fear legal repercussions of admitting they have been abusing the drugs, and worry how this might affect their family. Other women may be in an abusive or controlling relationship and fear violence from their significant other.
Women’s drug rehab programs can help women overcome their addictions if they just seek the help. If you or someone you know is addicted to prescription medication, it is important to seek help from a women’s drug rehab. Whatever problems are already present will only get worse over time with addiction.
Prescription drug abuse can be deadly. Drug rehab programs like Destination Hope are properly equipped to deal with each case individually. They have experience helping women overcome addiction to prescription medication and other substances and they offer individualized programs to make sure all needs are met.
