Substance Use Among Seniors
As people age, physical, social, and financial changes can add stress to their daily lives. Or maybe pain or surgery has them using prescription painkillers. Then again, a leisurely retirement results in increased social drinking. These are only three examples of how substance abuse begins for older adults, which goes widely unnoticed and contributes to health problems and untimely deaths among them.
It’s a growing problem with more of the population entering the senior stage of their lives. Alcohol or prescription drug use increases for a variety of reasons, and it goes unnoticed or ignored most of the time. A detailed look at how addiction starts in seniors, how loved ones deal with it, and treatment is covered in A Hidden Epidemic: Older Adults and Substance Abuse.
Prescription drug abuse can result in behavior that is often mistaken for early signs of dementia. Family members might not even know what prescription medications they’re taking, or they do but are unaware of the side effects. It’s okay to be “nosey” when a senior’s behavior changes, because improvement can come from a simple change in medication.
Increased and earlier-in-the-day alcohol use often leads to a more sedentary lifestyle and isolation. Less exercise and social activity causes muscle and joint problems, and depression can also be a result if seniors are not getting out of the house. A “what’s the use” attitude can develop very quickly. In these cases, family members should increase visits and encourage outings, even if they are short in duration. Once they are feeling a bit of self-worth, the subject of alcohol use can be discussed.
The important thing to remember is that seniors can live very healthy lives, and substance abuse affects them more seriously than younger adults. Family members tend to shy away from discussions about alcohol or drug use because it’s uncomfortable, or they feel like their elders should get to do as they please in their “golden years”. But if nothing is done about substance abuse, the problem gets worse and the years aren’t golden at all. So the most caring thing to do is to discuss the problem.
Telling someone they have an alcohol or drug problem is not a simple task. There are many ways to begin the discussion, and the most important element in all of them is that it comes from a place of love. A lot of the time, seniors just want to be included and remembered. So give them the chance.