Mothers Struggling with Drug Addiction

Mothers Struggling with Drug Addiction

A mother of three unintentionally became addicted to narcotics prescribed to her for a back injury. Although she had sworn to herself that she would never forsake her children because of the drugs, it was the fate they eventually suffered. She was no longer the attentive, loving and responsible mother she once was and in its place had become someone she hated.

I had no energy to involve myself with their lives, and soon found myself losing touch with what they were interested in or what their lives outside were like. I became very selfish, irritable and emotional. I stopped trying to even appear interested in them or what they had to say.

I made errors, lost things, forgot to cook dinners, left them home unattended for extended periods of time, or spent excessive periods of time sleeping off the effects of the drugs while they were home, leaving them there to amuse themselves.”

– L.V.

It took many years of this vicious cycle before she finally made the decision to enter addiction rehab and begin her path to recovery.

This story supplements many studies proving that it takes more time for women struggling with drug addiction to enter addiction rehab than it does for men.

According to the Federal Center for Substance Abuse Prevention, there are nearly 2.7 million women in the United States that are struggling with alcohol or drug addiction. Yet, only about 25 percent of patients in addiction rehab programs are women. So why are women, especially mothers, waiting so long to get help? Some of the contributing factors are:

  • No childcare
  • Fear of losing custody of their children
  • Lack of finances
  • No transportation
  • Belief that the drug addiction is caused by depression or anxiety and try to work on that first
  • Embarrassment
  • Denial

Simply put, women have become the fastest-growing population suffering from alcohol and drug addiction in the country. They not only wait longer to enter addiction rehab compared to men, but also reach full-blown alcohol and drug addiction quicker than males.

The idea that women both get addicted quicker, but also take longer to ask for help is incredibly dangerous for mothers who stay at home. Mother’s tend to have more privacy, which is conducive to hiding their struggle with alcohol and drug addiction.

Furthermore, pregnant mothers who are struggling with alcohol and drug addiction greatly increase the risk of their child being born with developmental effects surrounding the brain, heart, spinal cord, and or kidneys; as well as other birth defects such as:

  • Behavioral disorders
  • Gross malformations
  • Mental retardation
  • Premature birth

Addicted mothers are significantly more likely to create a toxic and dangerous environment for their children as well as everyone else surrounding them. While waiting to enter addiction rehab may seem like the easy way out now, in fact it can be the exact opposite. The fact that women become addicted quicker than men do coupled with also waiting longer to enter addiction rehab than men greatly endangers the likelihood of full recovery for women.

Don’t wait a minute longer, call our addiction specialists today and start taking care of yourself and your family. 855-678-8337

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