17
BETTER LIVING
c
I .
. The· attached to beiDg
chemically dependent is the
main obstacle faced by women
. reaweriag fiom this poten
tially f disease. All che . cal
ly dependent people face the
. 15 Tom Lucking. Ex-
ecutive Director at Gateway
Recovery Services, but women
" who are q.emicaUy depe .dent
e looked down on more than
any other group.
Desire the progress 've
made in the last decade, as far
public awareness and educa
tion, the stigma of being chemi
cally dependent is still very
real," he explains. And women,
more than yother group, suf
fer behind that stigma. They
f ce DOt oaIy the stigma of being
chemically dependent, but of
being WOlDen who are chemical
ly depeadeOL
Women alcoholics are
looked down upon more than
male drinkers because they are
expected to fulfill their age-old
tr ditional role as the keepers of
the morals.
"Somewhere along the way,"
Lucking points out, "it was
decided tha . is not ladylike to
drink, and that drinking is a very
. manly ct. If you 100 back over
the years - DO just decade
but ceeruri - you'll find plen
ty of evidence to upport that
belief." r
Wo n alco olics also face a
sexual association which adds to
•
19
the· shame. Our society puts
out the message that women
shouldn't drink because <¥ink
ing makes them exually
proamaaous.
Th· widely-held stereotype
helps to keep the woman al
robolic trapped: in her disease.
The woman's fear' of being
labelled alcoholic or ddicted
keeps her from seeking treat
ment for her disease. Often her
family and friends will go to
great lengths to avoid lookiDg at
her problem because of their
own preconceptions of what a
woman alcoholic or drug de
pendent person is. "Who wants
to admit that their wife or
mother is an alco olic? � if
he had cancer or Muscular
Dystrophy, would thert be any
embarrassment?
WA woman doesn't do any
thing to cause herself to be
chemically dependent," states
Lucking, "just as a diabetic
doesn't bring on the disease. It
,isn't a matter of willpower or
weakness of character. In fact,
the stigma "bears no
resemblance to the reality. But
it does keep women victims of
the disease. It not only drives
them further into biding; it feeds
the denial of their familie ."
Although women tend to
start drinking later in life than
men, they are not able to drink
for long before physical
problems begin to develop .
. LAKESHO E OTORS, I C. �
(Formerty Orchard Unco ·Neraary) m
Cliff Curry/Pr Ident UNCOlJI
�
Hou
a.m.-8:p.m.
., • Fri./.: p.m.-8:p.m.
Satl 1:30 a.ft-4:p.m.
on rbor, I 49022
(616)�7171
am __
d��� �------����-------
. CI t_ Zip _
MaiitiJis form with payment to:
Mlc:IUIPUi Citizen
P.0.80x3560
. Hi d 148203
a
Women alcoholics h ve a
greater prevalence of
panqeati· cirrhosis, ulcers,
and cardiovascular disorders
than do men. And the chance of
contracting breast cancer is
30% greater mong women 0
consume as few a their al
coholic driD per wee
Once the denial is broken
through, the prognosis for
recovery i ezecellent for both
men and women, ccording to
Lucking. The recovery rate' •
about the same for men and
n, although fewer women
enter treatment than men.
Many women today are
entering treatment through 'the
intervention of employers or
family. "It's important for
people to know that it isn't
necessary for the chemically de
pendent to want help in order to
be helped, "Lucking em
phasizes.
Usually a woman's co
orkers, pouse, or children
recognize her problem long
before she becomes aware of it.
o Intervention can help bring her
to begin recovery long before
she might get there on her OWD.
For more information about
alcoholism, chemical depend
ency, and recovery, contact
Gateway Recovery Services at
382-9820.
e
I'
•• "As soon as I get off, I smoke
one but it don't last longer than
20 minutes. But I be flying. bro'.
Ayin' high."
"Then, ho long does it take
you to come down?"
"I don't come down. I don't
work like rhal, my man. Yon
feel 0 beautiful that y u go
crazywben you rome down. It's
like you have sex at 1 o'clock, a
birthday party at 1:30, sex at 2
o'clock, a wild co cert at 2:30,
sex until 5 o'clock and then ten
0lS or vodka.: After that, you
don't want to oome down be
cause you feel like s--l."
"So, what do you do?" .
. "I'll tell you what I do. I
smoke me some uff. It lasts for
'bout 15 minutes, then (light me
up another 0 e before that high
lea� me."
"That must 00 t a fortune.
How much does it cost you each
day?"
"Everthing' different. If I
got good money, I stay high the
ole time I'm Dot selling �
on the street. Sometimes I
pend $6OO-S700 a day.
"How can you afford it?"
"I e good dollar on th
Flying hig� w· h c ac
street but sometimes I have to
make Chit'."
"What do you mean by that?"
I steal That's wb t I mean. I
mug and rob people like you.
Sometimes, I roo other peop
who deal drugs. When I want to
get high and ain't got DO dollar ,
I know how to get me so •
"Wh t's the most important
thing to you in life?"
·Getting high. No question.
Getting high is what life' 11
about. When I'm standing on
the corner dealing. all rm doing
. counting my bread to see how
long I'm gonna be ble to stay
high when I get off. "
'What about career? What 0
are you doing to do later in life?"
"Career? The hell ith a
career. This is my career. I sure
ain't gonna flip no burgers for a
.. " .
YESI YESI YESI
S.G
E UP .•
ant t
"
CIllG
CITIZE
mall
to
m
kly
t
[ ]
54 for 3 months
[ ]
S7 for 6 months
, [ ]
$12 for 1 year
l ]
S22 for 2 years
By Dr.C W. Fa
I h d heard about the "crack
craze" at a recent high school, so
I went there to talk to some of
the students. One feU was
standing on the playground,
leuing against the fence. He
bou 11. I asked him some
q lions.
"Is it easy to get crack arouad
here?"
"Yeah. I can get you some, if
you a' 't the police."
"Do you use it?"
wYeah. I use it, Sell it too."
"Why do you sell it?"
"I sell' so I can buy enough
of it to use for myself."
"Are you high right now?"
"Nab. I ain't high now, 'cause
they don't let you get high while
youse�." ,
"Who n't let you get high?"
"The bi man who brings my
stash to me. He figures you
gonna mess up . bread if you
get high, so I wai till I get off the
street to do mine."
"How much do you use?"
"Wel� one little rock ain't
goaaa keep you flying too long."
"How many rocks do you
use?"