Alcoholism: Recovery Experiences Between Men And Women

Alcoholism has been a fixture in our society since the first introduction of alcohol. Despite it being an equal opportunity disease, a large majority of not only the treatment, but also the research, has been about men. This lack of consideration of the different needs for men and women has led to many women going through recovery systems that do not address their experiences, and therefore do not allow them to take full advantage of that recovery system. This paper will attempt to look at the different experiences that men and women have in their journey through a substance addiction (particularly alcohol), from addiction through recovery. The main recovery method that will be discussed here is Alcoholics Anonymous. As an observation

Once you admit this, A.A. philosophy states, you can deflate your own ego and hand your life over to God. It has been argued that this strategy has the capacity to affect women negatively and not best serve the needs of those women who seek treatment (Kaskutas, 1992). Women, it has been asserted, instead need to fight to overcome common feelings that are associated with alcoholism, such as helplessness, powerlessness, and dependence (Kaskutas, 1992). Studies have shown that one specific method for treating alcoholism, irrespective of the differentiation of patients, does not maximize the benefit received from the treatment program. This would apply to cultural differences, age differences, as well as gender differences. In Alcoholics Anonymous, the source of sobriety is not contained within the alcoholic. Power is given up to God, with powerlessness over alcohol

meeting that I attended. There were only three women present, so the female presence in the room was not as great as I would have liked. There was one table in the room and about 12 chairs around it. Of the ten people there (not including myself) eight sat around the table, with the other two sitting on couches that were around the perimeter of the room. There was a wide variation in age of the members, with the youngest probably in his mid-20's, and the oldest probably in her 60's. There was not a large ethnic or racial minority presence, with only one Hispanic male in attendance. The oldest female in the room, did become the chair of the meeting (a decision reached by group consensus). The meeting progressed with each person allowed a time to speak if they so desired. As it was Thanksgiving Day, the first topic was the ways in which you are thankful. In the literature, as mentioned above, it shows that one of the main factors that could contribute to problem drinking is spending a lot of time around people who drink heavily (Gomberg, 1991). This was evident in the meeting as well. Of the ten members, only one was attending their first ever A.A. meeting (two others were attending their first Brown Bag Meeting). Ann declined to speak the first time they went around the circle, but she seemed very nervous. She later decided to speak, and related her experience to us. She had been sober for 10 days now, and when she woke