Open Door Retreat

An article on About.com reported that women who drink to excess experience more brain damage and sooner than males who drink the same amount. The findings were based on two different studies.

These findings are the first to show gender differences in the effect alcohol has on brain “shrinkage” that is common in all long-time heavy drinkers or alcoholics.

Researchers found that while male alcoholics showed signs of brain “shrinkage” compared with healthy men, the difference between alcoholic and healthy women was much greater, indicating the killing of brain cells.

Smaller Brain Volume

Alcoholic women showed an 11 percent smaller brain volume than healthy women. The study reported that such a difference would be unlikely to make a significant change in mental capacity and none of the study participants, with an average age of 40, showed signs of mental deficits.

Because brain shrinkage is a natural occurrence with age, these early decreases seen in alcoholics may make them more susceptible to dementia as they grow older.

Even Young Women Are at Risk

The results of another study are just as troubling for women that abuse alcohol because they suggest that even young and physically fit women risk damaging their brains through chronic, heavy use of alcohol.

Basically, the study found that compared with non alcoholics, the young women with alcohol dependence appeared to use their brains less. In some cases, they used a completely different (and less effective) part of their brains to complete a task than non-drinkers.

Getting Help

There are gender differences between men and women - on all levels. I don’t know anybody who disputes that fact at this point. That is exactly why it is important to treat alcohol addiction in women differently than their male counterparts. By choosing a facility dedicated to the recovery of women, you increase the probability of success. Women process information differently, deal with their emotions differently, and hence recover differently.