Drug Abuse Among LGBTQ+ Community
Addiction can happen to anyone and often results from deep-rooted pain or difficult emotions that have not been addressed. The more you experience unpleasant feelings or situations, the more individuals will often look for ways to escape their hardships through drugs. Members of the LGBTQ+ community have historically faced discrimination and biases within society. When faced with these challenges, many individuals will seek ways to eliminate the pain of experiencing these biases and connect with others in alternative methods that can often lead to substance use. It has been shown that members of the LGBTQ+ have a higher rate of alcohol or drug addiction than any other members of society. While the risk factor is high, there is hope to heal from your drug addiction with LGBTQ drug rehab in West Hollywood.
Many coinciding factors contribute to the high rate of drug addiction within the LGBTQ+ community. Compared to heterosexual individuals, individuals in the LGBTQ+ community encounter societal challenges and barriers impacting their day-to-day lives and interactions. Most heterosexual individuals take the freedom to be who they are for granted without judgment or biases. LGBTQ+ community members often feel vulnerable or judged within society due to the following challenges:
- Discrimination from others based on their sexual orientation or sexual identity. Discrimination can look like physical violence towards you, emotional abuse, or isolation/exclusion from others.
- Acts of hate crimes, public humiliation from others, ridicule, or threats against you
- Employment loss or inability to receive promotions
- Rejection or exclusion from friends or families after coming out
- Exclusion from social events or activities
With all of these compounding concerns, many individuals will find ways to self-medicate through drugs to help alleviate feelings of anxiety, depression, fear, or anger. As you continue attempting to use drugs as a method of self-medication, your body will begin to develop a physical and emotional dependency on drugs to function normally throughout the day. While you have no intentions of developing a drug addiction, many individuals are caught off guard as your recreational drug use turns into a drug dependency that has you hooked before you know it.
There are options for West Hollywood residents to get the support they need at an LGBTQ drug rehab in West Hollywood to remove drug addiction from their life with ease. Individuals who identify as part of the LGBTQ+ community are provided a drug rehab program that focuses on having a culture of safety and inclusion through the Muse Treatment Center. Every patient entering a drug rehab program is met with dignity and respect from the counselors and fellow patients. A specified LGBTQ+ drug rehab program means that each patient identifies as part of the LGBTQ+ community or is strong allies of the LGBTQ individuals. This often helps alleviate any anxiety or pressure when patients arrive as they are entering into a drug rehab program that honors that need for an inclusive, supportive space for optimal healing.
Drug Addiction Statistics in LGBTQ+ Community
There has been extensive research completed around the effects of discrimination and isolation that the LGBTQ+ community faces daily and how it impacts individuals’ ability to remain sober. The data shows that the high levels of discrimination and social isolation and exclusion that are felt will commonly have individuals turning to drugs or alcohol to cope with the unpleasant and troubling emotions associated with these symptoms.
- 4.7% of homosexual men use prescription opioids in a non-medical form compared to 2.3% heterosexual men.
- Men within the LGBTQ+ community are 12.2 times more likely to use methamphetamines than heterosexual individuals.
- LGBTQ+ members are 9.2 times more likely to use heroin than heterosexual individuals
- Research has shown that individuals who identify as bisexual are three times more likely to experience a substance use disorder.
- Those still defining or unsure of their own sexual identity are five times more likely to develop a substance use disorder.
- Transgender students within the United States are 2.5 times more likely to develop an addiction to methamphetamines or cocaine.
- 20-30% of the LGBTQ+ community will abuse substances within their lifetime.
Drug Rehab Treatment Options for LGBTQ+
While the statistics for drug addiction within the LGBTQ+ community can appear staggering, there are LGBTQ-specific drug rehabs that offer a safe place to heal from the pains of addiction that honors the story that has brought you to using drugs. To provide an effective addiction treatment program, it is crucial that patients feel like they are in an inclusive space and respect their individual needs. Whether that is honoring where a transgender individual is housed within drug rehab that meets their self-identified gender, honoring that gay men will have different needs and challenges that are different from lesbian women. Every patient deserves to have an individualized approach to drug rehab to provide a long-lasting change towards recovery.
Individuals within the LGBTQ community will face high levels of substance use. Many will have co-occurring mental health concerns that significantly impact someone’s ability to face each day and manage any ups and downs that life throws your way. Additionally, many patients will turn to drug use to self-medicate for their co-occurring disorder. Having specific mental health support within an LGBTQ rehab program allows patients to heal from their substance use disorder and mental health concern.
Choosing an inpatient drug rehab program provides patients with an environment to heal surrounded by counselors and fellow patients who also identify with the LGBTQ community or as an ally for LGBTQ individuals. This means that patients will have the ability to discuss the barriers and challenges they have faced as LGBTQ individuals and connect with others who have had shared experiences. Many individuals find that the supportive treatment community they find at an LGBTQ drug rehab in West Hollywoodoften enables patients to communicate with one another and create long-lasting relationships that will go far beyond their time in recovery.
Patients will have the opportunity to participate in individual therapy sessions to learn more about the underlying causes of their addiction and understand how the discrimination and biases they have encountered have contributed to or impacted their drug addiction. Patients will also have the opportunity to participate in support groups and group counseling to meet and heal with other West Hollywood residents who identify as LGBTQ. Great healing can come from sharing experiences and relating to others who have gone through similar things. Often, group therapy or sessions are the first time individuals feel comfortable and safe to open up and be vulnerable within a group setting.
Drug Rehab Therapies for LGBTQ+
To provide the best healing for LGBTQ+ individuals, specific therapies must be geared towards recovery from your drug addiction and mental health concerns. This process is done through a dual diagnosis program that uses evidence-based treatment methods to help patients eliminate their drug addiction and heal from the underlying emotions affecting their ability to remain sober. Additionally, you will learn new ways of managing mental health symptoms that are unpleasant or troubling through natural, holistic methods of treatment.
Throughout the therapy offered, patients will understand the impact of discrimination on them while also gaining new coping strategies to manage any future triggers or acts of discrimination. Therapists will assist patients in processing how gender and sexual identity have impacted any ongoing symptoms of depression or anxiety. Patients will be able to gain self-awareness and self-love throughout their time in LGBTQ drug rehab in West Hollywood, so when you complete your program, you will return home feeling a new level of self-compassion and acceptance.
Patients will also have the opportunity to engage in family therapy. Some individuals may have experienced family members who were not supportive when you came out to them, and this can often cause mistrust or feelings of rejection within the individual. If patients are willing and want to, they will have the opportunity to discuss these problematic emotions with their loved ones in hopes of rebuilding their relationship with someone that is supporting and loving.
LGBTQ+ Friendly Treatment at Muse
Muse Treatment offers residents of West Hollywood a drug rehab program that truly understands the LGBTQ+ community and breaks down the barriers individuals face while also providing a safe environment to heal from addiction without concern of discrimination or judgment. Recovering from addiction requires patients to feel comfortable and open to change. The compassionate team within our facility ensures all patients are welcomed with acceptance and care as you embark on the journey of a lifetime to heal from your drug addiction. Through your individualized treatment program, you and your counselor will work through your pain and trauma of the past to help you identify the future of recovery you want and see for yourself. For more information on our LGBTQ drug rehab in West Hollywood, call us at (800) 426-1818 today.
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