Until very recent times, women have been largely excluded from medical research and data sets. Studies about drugs’ effectiveness often did not include women, among other reasons because of concerns about how fluctuating hormone levels could throw variables into the results.
The consequences of this exclusion are far-reaching. In areas ranging from heart disease to mental health and addiction, women’s particular issues have been under-researched and under-addressed.
This includes the area of women and alcoholism.
However, thanks to forward-thinking female alcohol abuse treatment centers, a compassionate, women-centered approach to recovery is growing. Women have unique reasons for developing alcohol addiction, and unique needs to be met on the path to healing from that addiction.
How Is Alcohol Addiction in Women Different?
According to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, women who drink have a higher risk of developing alcohol-related problems than men. This is because their bodies, overall, hold less water than men’s bodies, and so are not able to dilute the amount of alcohol consumed as well as men.
This means women are more likely to experience the complications of alcohol abuse, whether that be intoxication and the errors in judgment that accompany it (such as mixing alcohol and weed), hangovers, blackouts, or more dire consequences. Alarmingly, statistics show that women have had larger increases in alcohol-related emergency department visits, hospitalizations, and deaths in the past 20 years.
But experiencing these bad effects of alcohol abuse does not necessarily equal addiction. So what is the tipping point for alcohol addiction in women?
Alcohol use disorder (AUD) occurs when a person continues using alcohol despite experiencing the many bad effects outlined above. They may try to stop or cut back, but find themselves unable.
People suffering from AUD may find themselves in a downward spiral of abusing alcohol and depression, using one to ease the other but only worsening both.
The health effects of AUD can be severe. Women, in particular, are more likely to develop liver disease, heart disease, brain damage, and breast cancer if they are addicted to alcohol.
Unique Emotional Triggers for Women and Alcohol Use
For many women, alcohol becomes a maladaptive coping mechanism in response to deep emotional wounds or chronic stressors. While some may drink to manage the pressure of societal expectations or trauma, others may use alcohol to escape overwhelming emotional burdens that have been long ignored.
Common emotional and situational triggers include:
- Caregiver burnout: Managing household responsibilities, children, or eldercare without support
- Work-life imbalance: Struggling to meet professional demands while maintaining family or relational duties
- Body image issues: Societal pressure to meet unrealistic beauty standards contributes to low self-worth
- Relationship trauma: Emotional or physical abuse from partners, including gaslighting or control
- Isolation: Feeling disconnected or lacking authentic social support systems
- Postpartum struggles: Hormonal changes, identity shifts, and sleep deprivation after childbirth
Understanding and validating these triggers is essential for effective treatment. A trauma-informed women’s rehab can help unravel these patterns in a safe, supportive environment.
What Women-Centered Alcohol Addiction Treatment Should Offer
Because the path to addiction—and to healing—can be so different for women, gender-responsive care is essential. Women recovering from alcohol addiction need spaces that honor their experiences, understand their pain, and support them in rebuilding a new sense of self.
A strong women-centered program should include:
- Trauma-informed care: Practitioners trained to recognize and respond sensitively to trauma histories
- Gender-specific groups: Therapy environments where women can speak freely without fear of judgment
- Peer support: Community with other women in recovery who understand shared struggles
- Comprehensive family therapy: Helping to mend relationships and build healthier dynamics
- Nutritional and physical wellness support: Healing the body alongside the mind
- Aftercare planning: Creating sustainable recovery strategies beyond residential treatment
- Holistic therapies: Mindfulness, yoga, art therapy, and bodywork to support full-body healing
Sana at Stowe provides all of the above in a picturesque, private setting ideal for deep healing and self-reflection. With insurance-friendly access and medically supervised detox, women are empowered to begin recovery with confidence.
Seeking Help: Why Is It Difficult?
Sadly, one of the reasons alcohol addiction in women is undertreated is because it is often hidden. The stigma attached to alcohol addiction women’s issues, the time and energy needed for detoxification from alcohol, the cost of treatment–all are barriers to women seeking the help they need to recover.
There is also the possibility that treatment will fail to address–or will address insufficiently or in a harmful way–the link between trauma and addiction that many women face.
Study after study shows a high percentage of people with AUD have experienced some kind of trauma, often in childhood. Common types of childhood trauma include:
- Abuse or neglect
- Death of a loved one
- Parents’ divorce
- Mental illness in a loved one
- Witnessing violence
- War or conflict
- Chronic poverty
Many more experiences can cause trauma in children that manifests as addiction in adults. If you or a loved one are wondering about your own childhood experiences, consider taking an ACEs assessment to gain perspective on your own past.
People who have experienced childhood trauma–or other types of trauma–often lack the self-soothing techniques necessary to calm their constantly triggered fight-or-flight response. Instead of understanding how to heal from trauma, they try to erase the memories with drugs or alcohol. This can have devastating consequences for them and those who love them.
Any treatment plan that fails to adequately address underlying trauma can be ineffective at best, hurtful at worst. Trauma-informed addiction treatment works to create a safe, trusting environment in which evidence-based practices are used to revisit and heal from traumatic experiences. Without trauma-informed training, well-meaning mental health practitioners risk accidentally re-traumatizing a patient, or putting a band-aid on a deeper problem by trying to change behavior without addressing the roots of the behavior.
Women suffering from alcohol addiction should seek out a women’s alcohol rehab that uses a trauma-informed approach, so they will have the utmost support and safety during recovery.
Find Healing from Alcohol Addiction at Sana at Stowe
Whether you are looking for detox management, luxury accommodations, or holistic services, you can find them all at Sana at Stowe. Our state of the art facilities in beautiful rural Vermont offer treatment plans specifically crafted for your particular needs as a woman.
If you are wondering if your alcohol use has crossed the line from manageable to a disorder, consider taking our alcohol use disorder screening test. Whatever the results indicate, we are here to help you begin the strongest journey possible to lasting recovery. As one former patient said, “Sana has a deep respect for patients as human beings who are trying to be their best selves.”
Our services are compassionate and trauma-informed, offering support for the many kinds of co-occurring trauma that can lead to addiction.
Also, Sana at Stowe offers medically-supervised detox and accepts insurance through in-network providers, so our services are accessible to all.
Do not hesitate to reach out to use today to help address the unique needs of alcohol addiction in women. Check out our addiction treatment guide to get started exploring our services. Hope is here for you. Call today at (802) 532-5277.
