How to find out and help if your partner is an alcoholic or addict
— Addiction and women has been in the news lately, from Brittany Murphy, to Miss USA 2009, Kristen Dalton, Shawn Southwick, Larry King’s wife, and Brooke Mueller, Charlie Sheen’s wife. But a caring and concerned partner uncertain about his mate’s addiction may be in the dark and need help in not only identifying the problem, but in seeking professional counseling. The Orchid Recovery Center is a woman-only environment in South Florida which understands female addiction problems as no other institution does.
Prescription drug abuse is on the rise as never been seen
According to the Journal of American Medical Association and Scientific American magazine, medicinal deaths are up to 225,000 a year, beating out even cancer and auto accidents in many countries. That is why The Orchid has become more significant than ever. There are few places for women to turn to, or for their partners who love them.
So is women arrested for DUI
Nationwide, the number of women arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs was 28.8 percent higher in 2007 than it was in 1998, while the number of men arrested was 7.5 percent lower, according to FBI figures that cover about 56 percent of the country. (Despite the incomplete sample, Alfred Blumstein, a Carnegie Mellon University criminologist, said the trend probably holds true for the country as a whole.)
Addiction is often a hidden disease
As a rule, it is hard to detect alcoholics or drug-addicted folks; they are experts at hiding their dangerous passions. They bury bottles or cart them away. Yet that is the easiest way to ID them. No matter what they try, booze bottles and pill bottles must move in and out of the house. And so do the receipts for the same.
A hard way is to monitor the bottles of booze or drugs
Women who are addicts may be excellent at concealing their addiction. For instance, an often-told Alcoholics Anonymous story is about a woman who reportedly left a hundred something bottles buried in her backyard, which were discovered by her husband after her death, to his great surprise.
The Orchid Recovery Center offers some hard tips for those wishing to soar in on a partner problem. There are ways tell right now if your wife or girlfriend is lying about drinking, drugs, mood alteration or the reason behind her defensive and, or aggressive behaviour.
If they are lying, they could be close to death or suicide and may need help and care. That is what The Orchid is there for.
How do you find out?
Following is a few hints for determining if your loved one is a hidden addict, although don’t take any one as decisive. False alarm won’t help, but a red flashing sign might suggest you at least to call one of the experts at The Orchid or your physician.
Be aware of their friends
Are they being enabled or enabling others to drinks and take drugs? Easy to find out. When they are asleep, grab their cell phone and see who they’re in touch with. Know their friends. It is a real dirty trick, but a life may be a stake.
As in journalism, follow the money
You can’t go to the doctors or pharmacy without a credit card and receipt — even over the internet. Check their receipts.
Think of the children
There is more on how to ID a woman addict below, but also crucial is how to help them. Children are often at stake as well. And even when a drink or drug is a strong pull, there is a much stronger one — mother and child.
In these cases, one has to deal with her guilt and the attachment regarding loved ones, so everything gets tricky.
This is why professional help may be needed.
How to help is paramount
Educate their children on addiction so you don’t breed another generation and help the kids in understanding the problem.
You may need to get the mom into a rehab, and in many cases an intervention with friends and family is key. The whole family may need therapy. There are many groups out there to help the family. Al–Anon/Alateen meetings are often a good resource.
Once they agree to rehab, get the addict out of their home zone, where they can easily find drinks or drugs even behind a gate.
10 Signs that Someone You Love May be Addicted
- 1-Changes in mood or personality
- 2-Decrease in performance at work, school or with household responsibilities
- 3-Late for dinner, appointments, etc. offering apologies and excuses for why they are late or fail to arrive as scheduled, sleeping too much or not at all
- 4-Gets sick or feels ill more than normal; complaint of vague symptoms or very lengthy descriptions meant to throw others off to get more medication
- 5-Asks to borrow money but is elusive as to what the money is for, missing money from accounts, unpaid bills, new and secretive credit cards, selling prized possessions or stealing money or things from others
- 6-Becomes defensive, angry or hostile when asked or confronted about behaviors or use of drugs or alcohol
- 7-Seeing multiple doctors and visiting different pharmacies to get more pills; buying pills/drugs from street dealers, neighbors, taking someone else’s medications, using more than prescribed or intended or buying pills on-line
- 8-Lack of interest in treatment options other than medications
- 9-Becoming secretive, withdrawn, acquiring a new set of “friends”
- 10-Lack of interest in activities with family or friends
The Orchid Recovery Center in South Florida plays a vital role in the intense fight against women who abuse prescription medications. Through a holistic process that also incorporates elements of traditional detox and counseling, The Orchid is able to help women break the cycle of addiction and learn how to change their behaviour so that they can remain sober in the months and years following treatment.
What makes the work at The Orchid so groundbreaking is the truly gender-specific nature of the treatment. The staff and patients at The Orchid are exclusively women – as treatment professionals at the facility have done extensive research and found that women heal and recover more effectively when they are in the company of other women. What the patients of The Orchid find is a support structure made up of other women – many of whom may also be addicted to prescription painkillers – that greatly enhances the recovery process.
The facility is helping treat women from all over-the-world fight back against the prescription drug addiction that threatens the lives and well-being of women of all ages.
To schedule an interview with Tina DePaolis, Clinical Director at The Orchid, or to obtain additional information about the drug addiction recovery program, please contact AH PR by writing at request@annehowardpublicist.com .