The Importance of Long Term Rehab Centers for Women in Recovery

According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, the treatment needs for women who abuse substances are different from those of men. Women are inherently different in the way that they react, recover, and bond.

Women are more likely than men to seek treatment for substance abuse. They are also more likely to struggle with it longer. Due to the unique problems, women face when they are substance abusers long term rehab is often necessary for a woman to completely recover.

Problems Women Face with Substance Abuse

Emotional abuse and low self esteem often effect women who abuse substances.

According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration, women have different reasons for abusing substances than men do. Many women start using drugs due to:

• emotional or physical abuse,
• domestic violence,
• sexual assault,
• maintaining a work family balance,
• low self esteem,
• raising children alone, and
• PTSD.

All of these circumstances create an environment of low self esteem and low self worth. This often causes depression and other mood disorders. Women begin to use drugs because:

• they need a pick me up to hand all of the responsibilities of work and child rearing,
• they need to unwind when dealing with children and stressful situations,
• they self medicate for depression, insomnia, and other issues that severely effect women.

The Need for Long Term Rehab

Some women need more time to recover than many men do because drug use seriously damages their ability to function without relapse. It is a matter of treating the problem that caused the drug abuse rather than just treating the drug abuse.

Damage to self-esteem is devastating for both men and women. Rebuilding the self-esteem and self worth of an individual takes time. Many programs are too short to allow a woman to completely regain the confidence they need to reenter society. Without long term treatment facilities for women, it is possible that many women will relapse into both an abusive situation and drug use.

This is not to say that women need more time to recovery than men do in general. It is important to understand that there is also a need for long term rehab for men in recovery as well.

There are also problems that women face that lead up to abuse that are less prevalent in men. Many women become addicted to a drug as part of a prostitution or slavery ring. When this is the case treatment becomes not only treatment for drugs but treatment for the issues that arise from being forced into prostitution or slavery. Both of these situations require some form of long term treatment.

According to the Philadelphia Weekly News, many women suffer from violence before becoming addicts and in order to treat the addiction you must first treat the repercussions of that violence.

It is therefore important to recognize a need for long term rehab centers that cater to women in recovery. For more information about these centers, call 888-646-0635Who Answers?