Editor's note: This story was originally published in Health Care Quarterly, a magazine about Southern Nevada's health care industry. Stories in Health Care Quarterly were submitted by doctors and their affiliates.
Recovery, like addiction, is a very personal journey. Individuals are not just taking themselves off of a drug their body is physically dependent on. They are taking themselves out of a way of life and either learning or unlearning attributes that make them who they are. In a rehabilitation center, clients are speaking with therapists and clinicians who are helping them grow into stronger people who can control their addiction. These sessions, and the way one receives treatment as a whole at a rehabilitation center, are not cookie cutter. One large area of difference in treatment has to do with age. Within different age groups there are different emotional skill sets and recovery methods that one must learn. On top of that, different age groups are usually addicted to different drugs.
Mike Adams, vice president of clinical operations at Solutions Recovery Inc., said there are three main age groups to look at when treating addiction: 18 to 30 years old, 31 to 50 years old, and older than 51 years old.
There are some similarities between each; there will often be someone enabling the individual experiencing addiction, be it the parent, spouse or child. There will usually be a stressor that is causing or has caused the addiction, which must be dealt with in therapy. There will also be coping problems and strategies to be identified.
There are also many differences between these groups. With different age groups come different ways the individuals have grown up. Whether they are baby boomers, Generation X, or millennials, there are different societal norms that are acknowledged and touched on during their treatment.
Ages 18 to 30
According to Adams, 18 to 30-year-olds are usually not emancipated, which can impact their addiction and recovery.
“Their relationships are enabling, and they stop growing developmentally at the time of addiction,” Adams said. “Usually the parents are inadvertently keeping their kids sick, and there’s more growth that needs to happen involving the family.”
Angela LaLuzerne, clinical director at Solutions Recovery Inc., notes that there is a higher relapse rate with the younger age group.
“Does it have to do with age? Ideas of immortality? Impulse? We have to address these issues and teach them healthier and more productive ways to deal with this stress,” LaLuzerne said.
Adams and LaLuzerne mention that the most common type of drug used by the younger age group seeking recovery is usually prescription pills, or opiates, which can lead to heroin use.
Chad, 22, went through the Solutions Recovery program for 30 days in-house and eight weeks Intensive Outpatient (IOP).
His drug of choice was heroin, but he said he started with alcohol and cocaine.
“I started drinking alcohol when I was 13, heroin when I was 17,” Chad said. “I kept trying to quit and detox on my own, but I would always go back.”
Chad has a similar story to what both Adams and Laluzerne described in regards to an enabling relationship.
“My mom always tried to help me, but it was enabling me,” he said. “She flew out to Las Vegas the second day I was in treatment here and said ‘OK honey, you ready to go home?’ I’m glad that I didn’t leave.”
Chad said that his mom was worried about him but didn’t think anything was wrong with him.
“‘You just need to stop using drugs,’” Chad remembers his mother saying.
Chad’s mom said he’s learning how to deal with his problems now. Whether dealing with his relationship with his mother or addressing his personal needs, Chad now has new tools to use to help him steer clear of drugs.
Ages 31 to 50
People in their 30s and 40s can often experience problems with their spouse or job, Adams said, which can lead to substance issues. Sometimes individuals in this age group are identified as having a mid-life crisis, which can sometimes involve purchasing extravagant items. In some cases, however, they turn to substances to deal with their stress. As seen in the younger group, these situations often include enabling relationships, but among middle aged individuals this is usually with the spouse, rather than the parent.
“For individuals in this age group, we are usually looking at abuse of alcohol and prescription medications,” LaLuzerne said.
This age group often receives the same type of treatment as younger individuals, in regard to identifying negative consequences and learning better coping skills for specific issues.
Ages 51+
The oldest age group experiences a set of problems all its own. The enablers are often the children, though sometimes still the spouse.
“There’s a post-retirement loss of identity. The whole family is redefining roles naturally,” LaLuzerne said of this age group.
This is something that can have a significant impact on people, because they often have to find a new sense of purpose. Unfortunately, many individuals find addiction instead of a new purpose or hobby.
Adams notes that since this generation is entering into retirement and is no longer regularly drug tested, it can be easy to return to drugs that they used to take when they were younger. Some will pick up the drugs they previously put down when entering into the workforce, only to find addiction instead of social use.
“Marijuana and prescription pills are rampant in the oldest age group,” Adams said.
There are unique factors this age group faces with treatment, according to LaLuzerne.
“With the older generation, medical issues become more of an issue,” she said.
This needs to be kept in mind not only in the beginning during detox, as an older, frail body is going to take it harder than the body of a 20-year-old, but after treatment, as well. Older individuals are more likely to need prescription medication for various health issues, which usually doesn’t bode well for the abstinence-style treatment that rehabilitation centers follow.
Michael, 53, also went through Solutions Recovery’s in-patient program and IOP. He is currently going through chemotherapy treatment for cancer that was found while he was in treatment at Solutions Recovery. As LaLuzerne noted, Michael’s health is an issue he is dealing with alongside his addiction recovery. If doctors recommend for him to be on prescription medication, that is something he needs to discuss with his clinician, because his life could be at risk without it. His sobriety, however, could also be at risk if he takes specific kinds of medication, which could also put his life at risk.
Michael has been struggling with alcoholism since the 1980s, but he began drinking far before that.
“I can remember I was 6 years old with a toothache, so my mom would put some whiskey on my tooth. When I was 12, there were always beers in the park with the boys,” said Michael, from Queens, New York. “My father was a bartender, I’ve been in a bar since I could walk. We’re a big Irish family.”
In the ’80s, Michael started going in and out of rehabilitation centers when his drinking started to get out of control.
“My mother died, my two brothers died, my father died. My whole family was passing, there was a lot of death,” said Michael.
Although growing up with alcohol constantly around was something that Michael accepted in his youth, he is truly dealing with his addiction now. Identifying death and loss as a role in his drinking is something that has helped Michael in his recovery now.
“Therapy was very helpful,” Michael said.
Solutions Recovery Inc. is a Las Vegas-based drug and alcohol rehabilitation center that offers 24-hour care.
For more information about Solutions Recovery, visit www.solutions-recovery.com or call 702-228-8520.
Jessica Kantor is Solutions Recovery’s content developer.