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Drug abuse is a scary thing. For many men, drug abuse is a way to cope with their problems, whether it be from stress at work or from traumatic past experiences such as military service. But abusing drugs does not make you strong—instead, it makes you weak.
Once you find help for addiction through therapy and counseling, you’ll realize that deciding to leave your addiction behind isn’t a weakness; it takes strength and courage.
For so many, drug abuse is a way to cope.
For so many people, taking drugs is a way of coping with stress, pain, and negative emotions. They may take drugs because they are suffering from anxiety or depression. Or they may have developed PTSD following their time in the army or other trauma.
While women are just as likely as men to develop a substance use disorder when using drugs, men are more likely than women to use illicit drugs in the first place. Therefore, there are more men reported to have a dependence on illicit drugs or alcohol.
Society Creates Stressful Situations
Especially in American society, men are held to a different emotional standard than women, often leading to increased stress and decreased coping mechanisms. Not only do these situations create an environment for increased drug use but also expectations.
Drug abuse or alcoholism is a way to escape your problems, not fix them. Addiction is the result of this attempt to escape. Prolonged use leads to addiction and addiction is a weakness.
Men are more likely to binge drink
According to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, binge drinking is far more probable among men than women. Two times more likely. This pattern of drinking (5 or more drinks in two hours) can very quickly lead to addiction.
Men experience more social and economic problems due to addiction
This includes unemployment, financial difficulties, fractured relationships, legal issues, and even homelessness.
Men are less likely to seek treatment
Admitting there’s a problem is often viewed as a sign of weakness, especially among men. Even though more men develop substance use disorders, fewer pursue treatment and built themselves a brighter future.
In the world of addiction, there is no such thing as being strong.
The world of addiction is confusing. We often think of substance abuse as a choice and something that weak people do to escape their problems, but it’s a disease. It’s not caused by weakness or laziness or an unwillingness to work hard—it’s a sickness that can happen to anyone, and one that requires treatment if you want to get better.
Getting help for addiction isn’t easy and it takes strength, but it also shows true strength as well: the ability to face your demons and choose recovery over staying sick. It’s difficult for many men because we’re so conditioned by toxic masculinity and our culture at large (and sometimes even ourselves) that being vulnerable means admitting weakness—but in fact, the opposite is true!
The more willing you are to ask for help from friends and family members who care about your well-being instead of trying alone through self-medication or other harmful behaviors (such as driving drunk), the stronger person you’ll become by making this important choice.
Once you’ve gotten through the hard part and you’ve made it to the other side, you’ll be proud of yourself.
You will feel proud of yourself when this happens because it’s an accomplishment to beat addiction—a lot of people don’t make it past the first few attempts at quitting drugs and alcohol before giving up hope entirely and continuing their downward spiral into self-destruction.
You’ll be amazed at how much happier your life becomes when all your energy stops being wasted on drugs rather than focusing on getting high or recovering from drug use.
Drug abuse and mental health disorders can often go hand-in-hand.
It’s important to remember that drug abuse and mental health disorders can often go hand-in-hand. While it’s true that mental health problems may cause you to engage in harmful behavior, including abusing drugs or alcohol, it’s equally true that using these substances can cause a few different types of mental illness.
The most common examples include depression, anxiety, and bipolar disorder (manic depression).
Counseling and therapy are vital tools in addiction recovery.
A counselor or therapist can help you understand your addiction and learn how to manage it. They do this by listening to your thoughts, examining the emotions behind them, and giving advice about coping with those emotions. Counselors can also help you develop healthy relationships and improve your social skills so that you feel more comfortable in social situations.
Counseling sessions don’t need to be formalized—you don’t have to meet with a counselor every week for years on end—but they are an important part of treatment and recovery because they teach new ways of thinking about yourself and the world around you.
Getting help for addiction is the sign of a strong man, not taking drugs or struggling on your own.
To get clean and sober, it’s important to be open about your addiction, accept what happened, and understand why you got hooked. Strength comes from conquering your demons, not letting them take control.
You also need to have support from family members, friends, or others who want to help you get better. In addition, if you want to keep your job while going through treatment programs or rehab center facilities or if you want better opportunities post-treatment program completion then having an effective recovery plan will make all the difference in the world!
Conclusion
We hope that this article helps you see that getting help for addiction is not a sign of weakness. You are not alone, and there are many people out there who understand the struggle you’re facing. If you need help getting started on your recovery journey, reach out to drug rehab in Los Angeles. We can help connect you so that you can begin taking steps toward recovery today!
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This content is brought to you by The Heights Treatment
