Working Mothers Driven to Drink?

New statistics suggest that the number of American women who abuse alcohol has doubled, and their reported abuse of prescription drugs has increased by 400 percent in the past 10 years.

It's always been a challenge for working mothers to balance the demands of their job with demands at home.

"It's very stressful. I'm not only a mother, I work, go to school, as well as take care of the baby," says Alexandria Delgado, a working mom.

Delgado says she enjoys a glass of wine in order to remove that stress, and she's not alone.

So many working moms turn to wine to unwind, there is a very popular Facebook page called "OMG. I so need a glass of wine or I'm gonna sell my kids."

The page has more than 110,000 fans, but a new article in Working Mother magazine cites statistics that suggests the constant juggling may drive more and more mothers to drink or abuse drugs.

The article is called "Addicted Moms: Everybody Knows Somebody," and it profiles women who suffer from alcohol and other addictions.

Of those responding to the magazine survey, 40 percent say they drink to cope with stress, and 57 percent say they've misused prescription drugs.

Local

Get Los Angeles's latest local news on crime, entertainment, weather, schools, COVID, cost of living and more. Here's your go-to source for today's LA news.

Dodgers home opener overshadowed by Shohei Ohtani interpreter scandal

Convicted killer who left Santa Ana halfway house is in custody

The article goes on to say that the number of American women between the ages of 30 to 44 who abuse alcohol has doubled in the past 10 years, and prescription drug abuse has increased by 400 percent in the past 10 years.

"Some people, they can stop at two glasses of wine. For some people it turns into vodka," says Dr. Kamyar Cohan, an addiction specialist. "They feel that they can't meet these expectations, that somehow they've failed."

Women are more likely to hide an addiction, experts told the magazine, as reported by the Globe and Mail, because they worry about the people who depend on them.

"Everyone might think they're doing fine; their kids might be getting straight A's. But inside, they're dying," said Robert Smith, an addiction counselor in New York, the Globe and Mail reports.

But the women on the "OMG, I need a Glass of Wine" Facebook page say having a place to vent makes them realize they're not alone. It's virtual therapy, which even the doctor says is a good thing.

"There is a tremendous amount of therapy that goes on in a group environment, instead of taking a pill," said Cohan.

Contact Us