Increase in women seeking help for alcohol addiction

There has been a significant increase in the number of women seeking help for alcohol addiction, according to the Rutland Centre.

In 2015, 93% of all women at the centre presented with an alcohol problem. In 2006, this figure was 74%.

“Some people have a predisposition to it. For other people, life is so much more stressful now. People are filling multiple roles, so women, for example, could be at work all day, come home and look after young children or elderly parents,” chief executive Maebh Leahy said. “And in that they get lost themselves, there is no social outlet, alcohol becomes their crutch so it starts out with a glass of wine in the evening and maybe it develops and before you know it, it’s a bottle of wine in the evening, it’s a reward. ‘Oh I deserve this because I’ve worked so hard today’.

“Also it’s a coping mechanism. They feel completely isolated and they’re trying to fill a void that should be filled in other ways and isn’t,” she added.

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Source: Irish Examiner, 30/08/2016