Drug use in women

Women and drug use

It is undeniable that, for both women and men, there are stereotypes in society that, in one way or another, are instilled and imposed as a model of behaviour and thought. Needless to say, these models or ideals are different for a boy than for a girl, revealing large asymmetries in the norms and values of behaviour that end up generating inequality in many senses in the position and situation that women occupy in society.

Women, among other things, have historically been raised to devote their lives and energy to others, whether as a mother, a wife or a daughter. Any of the roles assigned to them include caring for and putting their work at the service of others, before worrying about their own needs. When parents grow old it still seems, in many cases, that they must be cared for by a daughter; the wife must care for her husband, the mother must care for the children, and so on in countless circumstances, with feelings of guilt, emptiness and vulnerability also being instilled when this role is rejected. It seems, therefore, that women must set aside their own will for that of others.

In addition to this, during the 20th century women entered fully into the world of work, which had been off-limits to them for a very long time. With this, they became a new consumer group, seen as one more target by the advertising world and turning into an important part of the market, no longer only buying items related to the home and their "family responsibility" (food, appliances, clothing) but also goods related to leisure, entertainment, luxury and many other products that had long been denied to them. However, these changes in women's lives have not meant major changes in the gender role of men, who in many cases have maintained their inattention to domestic and family matters, which has led women to double or triple their responsibilities, because if before they had to care for and raise the children, run the house and other tasks, now on top of all that, in many cases, they work 8 hours a day, feeling (with good reason) that the demands placed on them are disproportionate and unfair, which ends up causing problems in their mental and physical health.

Women and drugs

The gender role is therefore a conditioning factor in many aspects of women's lives, and it is no different when it comes to drug use, where from this perspective it is possible to understand more clearly the behaviours and patterns of consumption, as well as how this affects their life and health.

With the changes that have been taking place in the space women occupy in society and, for various reasons, women have been taking on activities and/or behaviours that were previously associated exclusively with the masculine, understood as the concept of hegemonic masculinity that has been established throughout human history.

This is how the consumption of alcohol, tobacco and other legal and illegal substances has become normalised among women.

On this matter, gender roles continue to make their presence and disparity evident, since this type of behaviour is more judged and penalised in women than in men, because by taking on these behaviours a woman gives up complying with the standards of the "ideal woman" expected of her, abandoning traditional femininity, which has historically been considered an act of rebellion and, in many cases, of mental imbalance.

If we take a woman's alcohol consumption as an example (whether controlled or not), we can observe that the constant and disproportionate stigmatisation of this behaviour increases feelings of guilt, shame and frustration in women, which explains why men drink more in social and group settings without being particularly judged for it, while women do so more often alone, in secret, thus avoiding being judged for their actions.

The most common drugs

In the social imagination, the concept of drugs has been associated mostly with the masculine rather than the feminine, although reality, especially during the university years, is far removed from that assumption.

Women show higher percentages of consumption than men for some substances, mostly legal ones, whether tobacco, alcohol or sleeping pills and tranquillisers, also known as hypno-sedatives.

The most widespread drug among the population aged 15 to 64 is alcohol, which the vast majority have tried at least once in their lives. The greatest difference between consumption percentages among men and women is with cannabis, where there is a 17-point gap: men 43.6% and women 26.8%.

Another marked difference occurs in tobacco consumption; 74.8% of men declare having tried it at least once in their lives compared with 64.5% of women, a 10-point difference, a trend that, according to studies from recent decades, has held for many years.

As for cocaine, one of the most widespread illegal drugs among the population, men show a higher percentage of consumers than women, 14.6% and 5.9% respectively.

The average age at which tobacco, alcohol and cannabis use begins is earlier in men than in women.

Some of these differences in consumption may be conditioned by the gender roles assigned to both men and women, and it is particularly striking in this respect that women consider the occasional or constant use of this type of substance more dangerous and harmful to health.

Hypno-sedatives, alcohol and other drugs

25.6% of women have admitted to having tried hypno-sedatives at some point, establishing a 10-point difference with men, of whom only 15.9% admit to having consumed them. It is in the use of these drugs, commonly used to relax or reduce anxiety, that the greatest difference compared with men appears, with women in some age ranges more than doubling their percentage. One of the peculiarities of this drug is that it can be prescribed by a health specialist, which removes the stigmatising factor and links its use to a responsible concern for personal health, which is especially important when there is a social gender mandate, a role or stereotype that must be fulfilled to fit within what is considered proper, whether that be a good mother, a good wife, a good daughter, and so on.

On the other hand, the consumption of hypno-sedatives is regarded as a very common pharmacological solution offered by the various medical services, whether public or private, to women when they present discomfort or difficulties with their mental health, preferring these medicines over other responses that involve changes in their personal life and in how their relationships develop and are established, thus ruling out more comprehensive treatments that include other therapeutic techniques.

Alcohol consumption is heavily shaped by the stages of growing up; while between the ages of 15 and 25 a considerable percentage of people experience occasional bouts of drunkenness, this type of behaviour decreases significantly over the years, being in some way part of a specific process of growth and maturation.

When these drug-use behaviours extend and are repeated with harmful consequences, there are generally, or have been, environmental factors that influence them to be that way.

In the case of women we can mention:

Family and social environment

The family is the first and most important educational structure of a person, leaving significant marks on the process of reasoning and functioning, whether through contradiction or imitation.

When a woman or a man grows up seeing a family member consume alcohol or another substance excessively, it is very common for that person to repeat this type of pattern in their youth or adult life.

Stress

The multiplicity of tasks and responsibilities that women take on today, such as work, running the home, raising the children and family matters, generate very high levels of fatigue and stress, which facilitate and encourage the palliative use of tranquillisers and hypnotic drugs.

At the same time, the various emotions of anxiety, tension and overwhelm that women experience by being immersed in such a demanding and relentless daily routine cause feelings of frustration and insecurity, which often leads them to seek ways to escape these states through alcohol, a legal drug present in any home.

Tobacco and tranquillisers are very frequently used to relieve the anxiety and nervousness present in everyday life.

Another important generator of stress for women is the workplace, where different factors such as precariousness and uncertainty about the future facilitate the appearance of these emotions. Over-demand, harassment and professional stagnation also cause high levels of frustration, dissatisfaction and stress, which can lead to the beginning of the use of a stimulant substance such as amphetamines or cocaine to improve performance, or alcohol, cannabis or hypno-sedatives as a means of escape and avoidance.

Family

Within all these scenarios in which women experience the conditioning factors of their gender role and the elements that influence it, we also find their role as mother, wife and daughter, where their "obligations and demands" are constituted and defined by the mere fact of being a woman, which generates very different reactions and responses.

The social pressure to be a "perfect mother, daughter, wife" is brutal and brings a variety of problems to women's mental and emotional health, and they often use the drugs mentioned above as a way of escaping reality or denying it, changing it momentarily.

The frustration and the impossibility of meeting the standards and expectations placed on them is a source of relentless stress and anxiety for many women, who see that none of their efforts are valued or recognised. This ends up fostering a tired and fragile emotional state, which cannot be openly acknowledged or accepted as such, because women must be strong, endure everything and always with a smile on their face.

It is not far-fetched to think that, in such a demanding context, alcohol and other substances are used as release valves for frustration, stress and exhaustion.

How to recognise a problem

Some signs you should watch out for:

• Always, accepting that you have a problem with drug abuse is the first step towards starting a recovery.
• One of the first signs is believing that you can control your use but in practice this is not the case.
• Investing more resources (money, time, energy) than you would like in obtaining and consuming is another clear sign that something is out of control.
• Also, giving up activities that were previously important and meaningful in order to consume or obtain the drug.
• Experiencing anxiety or some kind of physical discomfort when not consuming, and feeling that in order to calm those sensations you need to use drugs, is another indicator.
• When the capacities for concentration, sociability and work are affected by the use or non-use of a substance, as well as experiencing mood states such as sadness, melancholy, fatigue and isolation when not consuming.
• Physical addiction is a level of dependence with a clinical classification and is characterised by the body needing a certain amount of drugs (an ever-increasing amount) to experience the benefits of the substance or to be able to function normally.

What to do

Faced with the possibility or suspicion of being in the presence of a drug addiction, it is important to be very clear that this type of behaviour results in significant risks to physical and mental health, negatively impacting autonomy, freedom, self-fulfilment, the sense of emotional, sexual and mental well-being, and the whole range of interpersonal relationships, whether family, social, work-related, and so on, thereby considerably reducing people's quality of life.

It is necessary to reflect on one's conduct and behaviour and to take responsibility. It is generally essential to have help, first of all from the family and close circle, as well as from a team of specialists who can accurately diagnose the features and depth of the problem, in order to establish, together with the patient, an effective treatment programme suited to the particular characteristics of the person.

Especially in the case of women, it is important to break down myths, stereotypes and structures that interfere with the processes of detecting these disorders, so that they can be observed at early stages and an effective treatment that is careful of all aspects of the patient's life can begin.

If you have questions about this or any other topic, contact us; at Reconectar we are at your disposal.