People say that everything has a reason. Finding and addressing the cause of your substance use may be beneficial. After all, addressing the root causes of substance abuse is vital if you are to achieve a long-term solution to any problem. If you’re struggling to escape the negative impacts of drug abuse, there are many available treatment methods. Contact the Willows at Red Oak today at 855.773.0614 to learn more about how we can assist you in overcoming addiction.

Common Causes of Substance Abuse in Women

Drug abuse has a different impact on women than men. In fact, substance abuse in women can be more dangerous than it is to men.
The pressure that life can put on anyone can be exhausting. The common causes of most women turning to drug abuse usually involve relieving the constant stress and pressures from everyday life.

1. Stressful Lifestyle

Work and school are standard parts of life for many people. However, they’re also a factor that causes women to turn to alcohol and drug use. The satisfaction of receiving short-term relief can motivate people to use these substances continuously. The stress from academic pressure might motivate young adult women to seek temporary relief in drugs or alcohol.

2. Mental Illness

Anxiety and depression are common mental illnesses that can trigger a woman to self-medicate. However, seeking temporary relief will only cause these conditions to worsen.

If you’re a woman who wants to prevent addiction, you must restrain from self-medicating your mental illness. Instead, seek help from a mental health provider.

3. Traumatic Experiences

Women who suffer from trauma are likely to use drugs. Some situations can include domestic violence, accidents, and physical or sexual abuse. Women who are victims of such traumatic experiences might also suffer from other mental illnesses. This increases the chance of women opting to self-medicate for a short-term escape.

4. Peer Pressure

Women in high school and college are more prone to peer pressure. This is where girls usually build their self-esteem by satisfying their social needs and belongingness. As others engage in substance abuse, women with the desire to fit in might participate in drug use as well.

5. Coping Issues

Sometimes, there are situations in life that are too stressful to handle. Stressful experiences like the death of a loved one, breakup, accidents, and illness in the family can feel hard to face.

For most, stress and depression will only last for a few weeks until they can cope with the experience. However, this is not how it works for some. Some people feel that negative emotions stay, and they feel like they will never feel happy again. In such cases, many seek an escape through self-medication, which eventually can lead to addiction.

How to Cope

While men often abuse substances for pleasures or social purposes, women use drugs to cope with problems. Their intentions generally consist of relieving negative feelings or enhancing their self-esteem by using drugs or alcohol.

There are better ways to cope with these kinds of problems without self-medicating or using drugs, alcohol and other substances that include:

• Support groups
• Stress management
• Developing healthy habits
• Engaging in recreational activities
• Assessing cause-effect of decisions
• Improving communication and emotional expression

Substance Abuse Treatment Program

It might feel hard to seek treatment. Women are burdened with social fears and often have a lot on their plate. This is why women need to receive gender-specific treatment in an environment where healing is possible.

You can find such an environment at the Red Oaks Recovery. They offer a substance abuse treatment program for women searching for a new beginning. The services you can expect will include:

• Holistic healing
• Dual diagnosis treatment
• Trauma-informed care
• 12 step program
• Relapse prevention for women

The Willows at Red Oak Recovery Can Help You Regain Your Independence

The causes of substance abuse are also associated with relapse triggers after treatment. So it’s essential to regain your independence from these causes and equip yourself with the coping skills to move forward in life. Contact The Willows at Red Oak Recovery at 855.773.0614 and treat yourself to a positive change today.