For International Women’s Day, Recovery Unplugged wanted to recognize the unique relationship between women and addiction recovery. Vicki Quintero, our Production Coordinator, was a client here at Recovery Unplugged in 2015 and has been clean ever since. She is a queer Latinx woman who faced struggles and great success unique to her identity.

Addiction In Women

Although men use drugs and alcohol at greater rates, women have been following close behind for the last few decades. In the 1980s, studies showed that men were five times more likely to be addicted to alcohol than women.

However, a study published in 2011 showed that the gap is closing. The ratio of men to women with alcohol-use disorders is now three to one.

Women may progress more quickly from using an addictive substance to dependence. Women in the LGBTQ community, especially transgender women, abuse substances at higher rates than their heterosexual and cisgender counterparts.

Specific Factors That Drive Addiction In Women

Some of the more common factors that drive addiction among women include age-old issues. This includes trauma, increased vulnerability to sexual violence and assault, and consistent rates of discrimination in every area of life.

The reality is that we live in a largely patriarchal society in which women or anyone perceived as “feminine” faces extreme struggles. These disparities in many areas of life have immense effects on women, transfeminine individuals, and feminine-presenting humans. Everything is impacted, from wages, job security, housing, and education.

This is known as the theory of minority stress. This theory asserts that people in minority groups use substances to cope and become addicted at alarming rates.

As a queer woman, I grappled with these struggles, and they took me to depths I never thought I could reach. Even through the rockiest of bottoms, I continued to dig my grave.

Recovery In Women

Although these facts make the chances of recovery seem bleak, women CAN and DO recover every single day. As a woman with multiple years in recovery, I genuinely believe that women deserve treatment tailored to our needs.

Many of us come to treatment not trusting other women or believing that we’re “different than the other girls.” Oftentimes, this thinking leads us to becoming dependent on men not only in addiction but also in our recovery.

Attending women’s groups for therapy can get us out of these toxic thought patterns. We must find our way into a place of trust and love for other women.

Working with women therapists and psychiatrists can allow us to open up in ways we never thought we could. By trusting these women, we can process our past and current issues free of judgment and full of understanding.

Learning to uplift and encourage other women can help us with our own self-esteem issues. If we ignore these issues, it may end up leading us into continuing the cycle of addiction in our lives.

Coming into recovery, I needed a space where I could share freely and vulnerably about my issues and why I kept relapsing. Women’s meetings, groups, and communities gave me the spaces I needed in order to do that.

I felt safe enough to share about the things that kept me using. That included my romantic relationships with men and women, the changes my body underwent during menstruation, and my utter lack of self-esteem. All these things led me to seek attention from men instead of working on myself.

Power In Women

It is very powerful when women come together in the spirit of uplifting and encouraging each other. To this day, I have chosen to stay involved in my recovery community and attend women’s mutual support meetings every week. Getting to see women whose company I enjoy and sharing what’s going on with me is honestly the highlight of my week.

When attending co-ed mutual support group meetings, I seek out the women, especially those new to recovery. I try to show them the same love and motivation shown to me when I began my journey of recovery.

There is great power in spreading love to those so desperately in need of it. I know that I needed it in the beginning.

In a society where women are still often held back due to entrenched power dynamics, any area of our lives in which we can gain power will help us succeed. Unfortunately, these dynamics still touch almost every area of life, including recovery.

For me, the key to unlocking the power within myself was on the keychains of other women. I will forever be grateful to all the women who paved the way for me. I’m thankful for those who have recovered before me, and the women who are just now starting their journeys.

Recovery Unplugged would like to extend a sincere and resonant Happy International Women’s Day to women everywhere. For those who are currently struggling with substance use, know that you’re strong enough and worthy enough to recover.