Substance abuse affects the family and workplace

Substance abuse disorders affect families of every race, ethnicity, socio-economic status and location. Individuals and families that face personal stressors of illness, death, marital or financial difficulties will often increase their alcohol or drug usage as a way to cope with their pain. The Center for Substance Abuse Treatment (CSAT) located within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services report that adults from 50 to 59 years of age have increased their illicit drug usage from 2.7% in 2002 to 5% in 2007.

Substance abuse in the home

One in four children under the age of 18 years old live in a home where alcohol misuse or addiction is hurting the family. This can create highly stressful family situations that can often lead to domestic violence in the home. The abuse and neglect that a child experiences in these situations can create an adverse impact on their physical and cognitive development. The emotional stress experienced within the family system can affect a person’s mood, appetite, and sleep cycle. Children whose parents suffer from substance abuse are four times more likely to develop a substance abuse disorder themselves.

Substance abuse in the workforce

Some stress is normal in our lives but extreme stress interferes with productivity and diminishes your physical and emotional well-being. Twenty-five percent of people surveyed by CSAT viewed their job as the top stressor in their lives. Workers reported on the survey that job insecurity and the trend of working longer hours contributed to their substance usage. During difficult economic times people have been known to utilize alcohol or drugs to relieve stress. Other individuals in recovery from substance abuse disorders are at risk for a relapse.

Approximately 20 million adults were classified with substance abuse disorders in 2008 by CSAT. Fifteen million of those adults were employed full or part-time. This impacts the workplace in a variety of ways. The worker that abuses different substances is at risk for deteriorating health, injury, job loss, and family problems. The employer will have increased health costs, lower productivity, and higher absenteeism from those employees with substance abuse disorders.

Finding help

Individuals that need help for their substance abuse often do not pursue it because of cost, stigma, denial of the need, or knowing where to go for their treatment. Do not wait to ask for help. Prolonged exposure to drugs will alter the brain which results in powerful cravings to continue the use of drugs. Those brain changes can make it very difficult to quit abusing substances on your own. Treatment can be initiated voluntarily by the addict or pressured by family, employer, and the legal system.

Addiction is treated and reversed through therapy, meditation exercises and other outpatient or inpatient facility treatment. Recovery is a life-long process where the individual will usually struggle against having relapses. The addict will need ongoing treatment to review coping skills and appropriate use of their support system. The first step to recovery is asking for the help that you need to repair yourself and your family. Don’t let your addiction control your life. Love yourself and family enough to take the steps to change your life. “You must be the change you wish to see in the world.” Mahatma Gandhi