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Violence Against Women Is Overlooked in Its Role in Opioid Epidemic


    Women's Health - "In my research with men on partner violence and drug use and HIV, a man reported pushing his partner to the floor and forcing her to have sex. He did not consider this violent, since she reportedly gave him a "signal."

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    *We need each other to get out of violent homes -clk on the image for the complete article

    In another study with women who use drugs, a woman said that her husband hit her and forced her to have sex: "I didn't know I was raped because he was my husband."

    Treatment must address the need for escape that these women seek. As another woman said, "When I was sober I didn't dare have sex with him. I had to be high to be able … to make love to him."

    One night, a woman I'll call Tonya got a compliment from a guy when she was out with her boyfriend. Tonya's boyfriend cursed her because another man had complimented her. He said: "You give it to everybody, I want it too." In anticipation of his physical abuse, she reasoned, "I could go off to Wonder World." She then injected heroin, to be "in her own world," she later told me.

    Tonya is only one of the hundreds of women I've interviewed for my research with similar stories in the span of my nearly 30-year career studying the links between intimate partner violence, sexual coercion, substance use disorders and HIV.

    Many women in controlling and violent relationships like Tonya's "self-medicate" – or use drugs that are not prescribed to them to help with their medical condition – to mitigate the trauma of physical and sexual assault. As a result, their bodies crave an ever-increasing steady supply of substances to get high in order to feel "better." Today, the drugs of choice are usually opioids.

    Research has repeatedly indicated that drug use is associated with partner violence, specifically against women, who may be particularly susceptible to such violence when under the influence of opioids. Living with substance use disorders puts these women into a number of contexts that expose them to HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases that jeopardize their survival in many ways. "

     

    Self Criticism


      Article

      This article is about intimacy and self criticism although we both know criticizing yourself affects you even before you get to bed. Try getting dressed or walking in between a crowd and know you are loved and significant.

      MONDAY, April 15, 2019 (HealthDay News)—

      Experts say that to challenge your inner critic, you should first write down all these thoughts in detail, but do so in the second person to distance yourself from them. The next step is harder, but effective: Verbalize these thoughts with your partner. By voicing them, rather than letting them fester in your head, you can both put them in perspective and, together, debunk them.

      Many people are plagued by self-criticism, that inner voice that questions every decision and every move. It can keep you from reaching goals and erode self-confidence. And when it happens during intimacy, it can ruin your sex life and your relationship.

      No topic is taboo for the inner critic's scrutiny—your attractiveness or your attraction to your partner, your sexual needs, your performance, and all these aspects of your partner as well. These thoughts can start before the first moment of intimacy and escalate to the point where your mind is not on your partner when lovemaking, but caught up in destructive thoughts. *CLK the image or HealthDay New for the complete article

       

      Living with Postpartum Depression Made Me Realize Many Moms Suffer in Silence


        Women's health- "My husband and I waited until we were older to have a baby—I was 36 when my daughter was born. We were excited, but nervous. No one can prepare you for the way a baby changes your life: no sleep, constant crying, the trials of

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        breastfeeding… At the hospital, they had me take a quiz after she was born and my answers triggered a visit from the social worker. She gave me info on a local postpartum group and gave my husband some info on PPD warning signs to look for. I’d had to have a C-section because she was stuck (and I mean really stuck) so my husband took a little extra time off of work and a friend came to stay on the days he had to go in. I was lucky and thankful to have the help—I didn’t know what I was doing and the baby scared me too." *clk the image or Women's health for the complete article

         
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