NASHVILLE, Tenn. -
Counselors who work with women charged with DUI said more women are being charged with DUI and coming to them for help.
Most of the women seek counseling as part of their sentences for DUI.
"Just the stress of being a woman and a mother they have issues mental and emotional illnesses," Mental Health Technician Angela Crumpton said. "They self medicated with other drugs, alcohol, marijuana, crack or opiates."
Crumpton sees around 75 women per month through various programs at a mental health clinic where she works.
She has 15 years experience in counseling men and women who have issues with substance abuse.
"It is easier for people, male or female, to be addicted to alcohol because it's socially acceptable," Crumpton said. "You couldn't just pull out a crack pipe or a blunt and smoke it in a restaurant."
She continued, "However you could order a glass of wine at happy hour."
According to Crumpton she is also seeing an increasing number of women who are charged with DUI, but were not drunk when police arrested them. The women were under the influence of prescription pain killers.
"One lady had [an interlock ignition device] on her car, but she wasn't in treatment for alcoholism," she said. "The [interlock ignition device] didn't necessarily help her because she hadn't been drinking alcohol."
Crumpton said in many cases the alcohol or substance abuse is a product of another issue in her client's life they are not addressing.
"They probably haven't developed really good coping skills," she said. "Because for every situation we are given a pill or some other alternative method for coping."
According to the Centers for Disease Control, women are more susceptible to alcohol because physically their bodies are not able to metabolize alcohol as rapidly as men.
The CDC also said the 60% of women 18 to 44 years old drink. Of those who drink, 33% binge drink.
Binge drinking is defined as having four or more drinks within two hours for women and five or more drinks for men.
"Normal people rarely take its deadly nature into account," Crumpton said. "Addiction is a disease and there is no cure for it."
Crumpton added, "However through treatment you can recover through the process and live a healthy and sober life."
Alcohol abuse can lead to other consequences for the public, including motor vehicle crashes.
It is a factor in 35% of all crashes in the United States, according to the Tennessee Department of Transportation.
Impaired driving and impaired-related crashes result in more death each year that do total homicides.
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