Why Do Women Relapse?

As with many other things in life, men and women differ somewhat when it comes to relapses.

Studies show that marriage plays a major role in the incidence of relapse in women. Women who are recovering from drug or alcohol addiction have a higher chance of experiencing a relapse if they are married and there is conflict and stress in their marriage. On the other hand, marriage served as a kind of protection for men who are recovering from their substance abuse addiction.

Women addicts are often trauma survivors who turn to drugs and alcohol in an attempt to numb the feelings of pain, isolation and emptiness that they feel within and to fill the void that has been created mostly by long term abuse. Rather than fulfilling their need for love and connection through relationships, they seek solace and comfort in alcohol and drugs.

Most women relapse because the very feelings that they are trying desperately to numb and the memories that they are trying to forget, come back to them and dominate their lives overwhelmingly when they not under the influence of drugs. Relapse often occurs in women because the wounds and the pain of the past have not been addressed and resolved.

Women need to acquire the tools and the strength to overcome past feelings so that they can successfully take the road to recovery without the fear of a relapse. They need to find something that will make them feel restored and whole again. Substance abuse recovery takes on a whole new dimension for women who need to learn to find new meaning in life.

Many women find what they are looking for in spirituality. Spirituality lifts a woman from her downward spiral of addiction to an ever constricting and isolated world and puts her onto an upward spiral to an ever expanding world where she can connect to others who care. Spirituality is the core of a women's upward journey from the depths of despair to a world of hope and recovery. It is a conduit though which women learn to let go of the past and to trust and love again.

Spiritual retreats have qualified professionals who are well trained in the art of teaching women to use the powerful force of spirituality to help them successfully get through the process of recovery.