Older Citizens and Addiction: The Silent Epidemic
Underdiagnosed Addiction and Substance Use
When discussing older citizens and addiction, it’s essential to recognize that individuals aged 65 and older are an underdiagnosed group. According to the Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services, older adults facing addiction typically fall into two categories. One such category is those with a long-standing dependency. Another is those who develop an addiction later in life. Health challenges or significant life changes can trigger the latter. Examples include losing a loved one, retirement, or financial stress.
Cultural / Generational Bias
When conducting health screenings among older citizens, symptoms of addiction or drug dependency may be overlooked. This is because they often mimic other common issues among that population, such as depression, diabetes, or Alzheimer’s.
There is arguably a cultural bias that alcoholism or addiction should be ignored among this population by their adult children. This results in unconsciously assigning different quality-of-life standards to older individuals.
Research notes that remarks such as “What difference does it make; he won’t be around much longer anyway” reflect this attitude. Ignoring that the aging are far more susceptible to health deterioration caused by substance abuse when compared to other populations.
Older Citizens and Addiction Facts & Figures
According to the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence (NCADD):
- There are 2.5 million older adults with an alcohol or drug problem
- 6% – 11% of older citizens admitted to the hospital are a result of alcohol or drug problems
- 14 percent of older citizens admitted to the emergency room, and 20 percent of older citizens admitted to psychiatric hospital admissions are a result of alcohol or drug problems
- Widowers over the age of 75 have the highest rate of alcoholism in the U.S.
- Nearly 50 percent of nursing home residents have alcohol-related problems
How Do We Improve?
Many in this age group consider addiction or substance misuse to be a private matter and often will not seek treatment due to the stigma attached. In this case, it may be up to the adult children to step in and intervene.
For those who have been struggling with addiction for some time, family members or caregivers should recommend addiction support groups. Here, friendship and fellowship can help guide them toward solutions. After dispelling any cultural bias about addiction, younger family members may also want to advise older individuals dealing with substance abuse to pursue rehab treatment.
Older individuals may not be aware that there is a risk of addiction associated with specific prescriptions. Providers should make sure patients are well informed about their effects and the dangers of mixing alcohol with certain drugs.
Broader Shifts in Perspective
As a culture, we can shift our perspectives to value and respect people more. It’s important to recognize that the quality of life is essential, no matter how long they have left to live.
We can also recognize that alcoholism and addiction weren’t taken seriously in older generations. Previous generations had fewer tools and resources to manage mental health and emotional concerns, and it was both common and accepted that feelings and traumas would be “dealt with” by drinking, taking pills, and other forms of numbing.
Consider the “mother’s little helpers” pills of the 1960s. While today, women falling into this category would be encouraged to seek counseling and other more holistic tools to manage anxiety, stress, and trauma, at that time, it was perfectly acceptable to numb their feelings with pills.
It could be argued that the current opioid epidemic has in part flourished because of our society’s overall acceptance of – and dependence on – pills, and that the seeds were planted decades ago.
Additionally, men coming home from World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War had little to no resources available to deal with the trauma and horrors that they experienced. Many of these vets drank – or in the case of Vietnam, continued using the heroin they’d experienced overseas – to self-medicate their PTSD.
There are entire generations of our people who weren’t given cultural permission to validate – much less treat – pain and trauma that we would take very seriously today. By recognizing this, we can help them acknowledge their mental health needs (past and present) and help them access sustainable tools to address them.
Sources:
National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence
