Substance abuse problems on the rise with seniors

Some news is good, some not so. Given the higher rates of substance abuse in the LGBT population, it’s important to report on these things. It can also give hope to those struggling with alcohol and drug problems. I don’t know if substance abuse itself is on the rise, or if seeking help for it is. In either case, we need to know these things – information is power, including the power to improve our lives.

From CBS News.com:

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – They go around this room at the Hanley Center telling of their struggles with alcohol and drugs. They tell of low points and lapses, brushes with death and pain caused to families. And silently, through the simple fact that each is in their 60s or beyond, they share one more secret: Addiction knows no age. “I retired, I started drinking more,” one man said. “I lost my father, my mother, my dog, and it gave me a good excuse,” said another. A remarkable shift in the number of older adults reporting substance abuse problems is making this scene more common. Between 1992 and 2008, treatment admissions for those 50 and older more than doubled in the U.S. That number will continue to grow, experts say, as the massive baby boom generation ages. “There is a level of societal denial around the issue,” said Peter Provet, the head of Odyssey House in New York, another center offering specialized substance abuse treatment programs for seniors. “No one wants to look at their grandparent, no one wants to think about their grandparent or their elderly parent, and see that person as an addict.”]]>