Stress,Trauma & Emotional Wellness for Women in Africa
Shibero (Ms) Akatsa:
Registered Clinical Therapist/Psychosocial Consultant & Life Coach. (UKRCP; IATA. RELATE.UK)
MORE & MORE WOMEN AT RISK OF ALCOHOL ADDICITION
Women’s drinking has increased for a number of reasons. Those women have succeeded in obtaining jobs that were once the preserve of men have joined – or found it necessary to become part of – the after-work drinking culture. Office for National Statistics figures from 2011 show that women in management and professional jobs drink more than the average woman and drink more on weekdays. Many women also are frequently shown drinking to cope with the daily stresses and challenges. Behind alcohol addiction lies depression and trauma.
More and more women in Africa, are also drinking at home because alcohol is so cheap and easily available it’s become an everyday grocery item. More women on the continent are getting addicted to alcohol without realising that alcohol has become a habit rather than a pleasure.
‘No Gender Equity’
As it happens, drinking can be especially hazardous for women.
Women tend to have smaller bodies than men, and differences in physiology that make blood-alchohol levels climb faster and stay elevated longer. Some studies have found that women have lower levels of the stomach enzymes needed to process the toxins in alcohol as a result, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, women are more prone to suffer brain atrophy, heart disease and liver damage. Even if a woman stops drinking, liver disease continues to progress in ways it does not in men. And research definitively shows that women who drink have an increased risk of breast cancer.
Impact of Alcohol Addiction on Women
The impact of this is women are storing up future health problems, without realizing just how easy it is to go over recommended limits. Women’s bodies do not tolerate alcohol as well as men’s, however, because they have a higher fat to water ratio. Because they have less water, the alcohol in their system remains more concentrated. They also have smaller livers than men, which makes it harder to process alcohol safely.
Women in Africa need gender based services that will include:
• Recognizing the role and significance of personal relationships in women’s lives.
• Addressing the unique health concerns of women.
• Acknowledging the importance and role of socioeconomic issues and differences among women.
• Attending to the relevance and presence of various caregiver roles that women assume throughout their lives.
• Recognizing that culturally-ascribed roles and gender expectations affect society’s attitudes toward women with mental illnesses.
• Adopting a trauma-informed perspective.
• Using a strengths-based treatment model for women.
• Incorporating an integrated and multidisciplinary treatment approach for women.
• Maintaining a gender-responsive treatment environment across all settings.
• Supporting development of gender competency specific to
Gender differences come into play when it comes to treatment for mental health and substance abuse. Just as each patient’s needs are unique, and a treatment program must be tailored to address those particular needs, attention also must be paid to the special needs of women. What works for men in treatment doesn’t always work the same way for women. Men and women especially in Africa, have very different stories to tell. Such services are non existant in Africa.
the issues of women.
BIG Need for Gender Based Mental Wellness Services
Gender differences come into play when it comes to treatment for mental health and substance abuse. Just as each patient’s needs are unique, and a treatment program must be tailored to address those particular needs, attention also must be paid to the special needs of women. What works for men in treatment doesn’t always work the same way for women. Men and women especially in Africa, have very different stories to tell. Such services are non existant in Africa.
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