In addition to support groups, you can also seek the help of a therapist or counselor. They can provide you with tools and resources to help you stay sober. The therapy can be done individually or in groups. It's important to find a therapist you're comfortable with and who has experience treating addiction.
The most obvious challenge women face in recovery revolves around the family. Women often care for their families and have responsibilities for caring for children at home. They may not seek treatment because they cannot leave their families or children behind. Likewise, many women don't ask for help because they fear losing custody of their children.
Even if they get help, they may not seek a sober living environment to recover, for fear that it will keep them away from their family for longer. While men can be caregivers, these family barriers are particularly unique to women's recovery experience. Organizations such as Alcoholics Anonymous or Narcotics Anonymous are other ways to create a support network. You can try different meetings for different groups to find the one that works best for you.
Why is the pull so strong? As anyone recovering would say, being sober can be incredibly difficult. It can mean missing parties, it can mean being forced to face the struggles and challenges of life sober as a rock, and it can also mean being alone. The Fix quotes a 26-year-old former heroin addict as saying that “being sober is pretty lonely. The apparent cure for loneliness is often sought in like-minded people.
Even people who no longer use drugs and who follow the program constantly, there is an unconscious identification with other addicts, to the point of seeking romantic or sexual partners with substance abuse problems (whether borderline or full-fledged). Part of the appeal comes from the feeling of relapsing without actually relapsing; a psyche that is still too tempted by addiction can rationalize anything, even staying with a partner (or several partners) who use drugs. It provides a safe space to share your experiences and challenges, while offering a new network to connect with while trying to live a sober lifestyle. Loosid offers chat groups to help sober people get to know each other where they live, make new sober friendships and find people to do activities with that are not related to alcohol.
Founded in 1975, Women for Sobriety (WFS) is the first peer support program designed specifically for women overcoming substance use disorders (SUD).
