7 myths about female alcoholism

Is it true that women drink less, but quickly lose control over the amount of alcohol they drink and are more addicted to alcohol than men? And is it possible to say that curing someone who is addicted to alcohol is more difficult than a representative of the opposite sex? Let’s figure it out with an expert.

1. Women drink less than men

Perhaps this was some hundred or two hundred years ago, and this is primarily due to the fact that women at that time had fewer social, ethical and gender opportunities. Women were responsible for the home and family.

If we turn to classical literature, we will find in the works of famous writers a whole kaleidoscope of hussars, rake and drunkards. And only one Scarlett, who secretly took a bottle of strong alcohol in the evenings.

A moderately drinking man is still perceived by society as a normal phenomenon, but a drinking woman is a shame. Although the situation has recently changed. Women drink just as much as men. Champagne with friends, a glass of wine after a hard day’s work is the norm, dictated, among other things, by gender equality.

In addition, earlier, 20-30 years ago, women were embarrassed to seek help from a narcologist, and today half of my patients are women, and this does not mean that they began to drink more. Rather, it is about the fact that seeking help in the “rehab” has ceased to be a reprehensible matter.

2.Women’s alcoholism is the fate of the marginalized

Severe forms of female alcoholism with a complete loss of social functions are possible. But the same can be said about male alcoholism. The point here is the quality of drinks, and the fact that the poorer a person, the less likely he is to get treatment at a clinic.

Bohemians always drank a lot – both men and women.

I hasten to note that in the modern world Russia is not the most drinking country. Both female and male alcoholism is widespread, for example, in England.

Nevertheless, I would like to designate a new alcohol segment: representatives of the middle class have been added to the categories of bohemians and outcasts today. These are strong, smart, successful women who have built a career, business and have a somewhat masculine type of character.

They need alcohol to relax after working days. Unfortunately, in some cases, such an easy way to relieve tension turns into an addiction. And another category of patients in drug treatment clinics are the wives of wealthy husbands. In this case, alcohol, at first “frivolous”, and then stronger, appears in their lives out of boredom.

3. Female alcoholism is incurable

Any alcoholism is incurable. If it has developed, it becomes a chronic disease, which, however, can successfully enter into a long-term and even lifelong remission. And there may be breakdowns that require monitoring and treatment.

Another thing is important: female alcoholism is formed faster. And the reason for this, unfortunately, is purely physiological factors that contribute to this.

The female body as a whole reacts worse to alcohol than the male body. This is due to less weight, and to the hormonal background, and even to the fact that in women alcohol is more slowly excreted from the body (less enzymes that break down ethyl alcohol).

Let’s not forget that during the period of PMS, women’s mood decreases, cravings for sweets or, in the case of addiction, for alcohol intensify. And this is also taken into account in the treatment.

A man can drink his whole life. A woman is enough 3-6 years. However, cases of rapid male alcoholism are also common.

4. Women get over hangovers more easily.

Alcohol is broken down by two major enzymes, alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) and acetaldehyde roginase (ACDH). The first converts alcohol into acetaldehyde – a substance that causes intoxication of the body. The second converts acetaldehyde into acetate, which is quietly excreted during the day.

People with dominant ADH are at risk. Their euphoria comes faster and their head is heavier in the morning. So, women initially have more of the first enzyme in the body. Therefore, abstinence in women, on the contrary, is more difficult than in men, and the feeling of guilt for immoderate libations is much more palpable. The latter is already caused by social foundations.

5. A glass of wine with dinner is not alcoholism

Depending on what is considered alcoholism. Alcoholism is a medical diagnosis. That is, as long as you haven’t been given it, you don’t seem to be considered an alcoholic, no matter how many glasses you drink a day. However, if you cannot imagine life or just a full dinner and normal sleep without a glass of wine, this is an addiction. While psychological, but dependence. And chronic alcoholism often begins with “one glass of sleep.”

Alcoholics are not born: this disease develops over the years. And sometimes it does not develop, that is, a person at some point by a strong-willed decision excludes alcohol from his life altogether or uses it only on holidays.

The main thing you need to understand is that just an evening or Friday night is not a reason to drink. Try for the sake of sports interest to abandon the systematic use of a “glass” for a month. And see what comes of it.

6. A woman inherits alcoholism from her father.

Alcoholism has completely proven medical prerequisites that can indeed be inherited genetically, but not always. Chronic alcoholics, as a rule, are people whose body does not produce serotonin properly.

They use alcohol or drugs. Neurotransmitters in the brain, which are responsible for a cheerful mood, are excited, and the person is in a stable state for ordinary people. That is, stimulants allow a person with impaired serotonin metabolism to simply get out of the usual blues.

As for women – the daughters of alcoholics, the following story often happens here: they subconsciously choose drinking men as their partners in order to prove that such a person can also be loved, thus living the rejection of their father’s drunkenness. Further, they are more likely to become co-users. Or co-dependent – that is, they live with one goal – to cure a man of alcoholism.

7. A woman can stop drinking at any time, you just have to make a strong-willed decision.

Yes, there are people who can take and “tie up” in one day. But this happens in the first or second stages of alcoholism. Further more difficult. But it’s just easier for women, because they are often motivated by children. A woman stops drinking not for herself, but for the sake of her children.

It happens that they “tie up” for the sake of appearance, because they understand that at the age of twenty half a bottle of champagne at a party does not reflect on the face in the morning, and at forty even a glass is noticeable.

But if the disease is advanced, then only specialists, relatives and friends will help, because at this stage the woman herself no longer realizes that she needs help, or is in severe depression and is convinced that no one and nothing will help her.

At the first alarming bells, I would recommend a consultation with a psychotherapist in order to understand how advanced the problem is, and a course of psychotherapy, after which, perhaps, medical treatment in a hospital will not be needed.