The Impact of Drugs and Alcohol on Millennials
Legacy Healing Center Blog
The Facts on Substance Abuse and Overdose Among Millennials
As if the opioid crisis isn’t enough to be concerned about, the U.S. is facing additional drug and alcohol problems. A recent report presented by the Trust for America’s Health and Well Being Trust states that drug and alcohol related deaths are increasing among the millennial population, with a specific focus on the 23 to 38-year-old age group.
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Well Being Trust is a national foundation devoted to improving the mental, social, and spiritual health of the nation. Specific attention is given to matters of prevention, treatment, and recovery for mental health, substance misuse issues, and the millennial drug overdose crisis.
“The numbers of these deaths are staggering and tragic. They are also preventable,” says John Auerbach, president and CEO of Trust for America’s Health. “As a nation, we need to apply what we know about prevention to address the root causes of this epidemic of substance abuse and suicide. The time to act is now.”
The Impact on Young Adults
The Trust reports that the number of millennial drug overdose deaths has risen by 400 percent within the last two decades. Drug overdose deaths among young adults aged between 18 to 34 years old stand at 31 per 100,000 people. Drug deaths increased by 108 percent during the period of 2007 to 2017 with alcohol related deaths during that time period increasing by 69 percent.
The Trust has issued a National Resilience Strategy that focuses on crisis intervention, and early identification and action associated with poor mental and physical health. Recommendations are also given regarding mental health issues and substance use disorders, and actively creating access to evidence-based prevention, screening and treatment options. Other strategies outline:
- Using price strategies to limit alcohol consumption
- Increasing funds for research relating to non-opioid and non-drug pain treatment options
- Reducing the impact of multigenerational substance use disorders
- Providing the criminal justice system with the resources to access evidence-based substance misuse treatment programs
- Creating new programs that address substance misuse and suicide prevention
Benjamin F. Miller, Psy.D., chief strategy officer for the Well Being Trust, stated, “If we fail millennials, we’re failing the next generation and we’ll not break this cycle of despair.” He added, “To better support the conditions that can prevent these deaths of despair, we must intervene at the source and look at the issue through a more comprehensive systems lens.“ While closing the treatment gap is important, we’ll never get there if we don’t also focus on closing the prevention gap — by increasing attention on adverse childhood experiences, chronic stress, food deserts and all the additional health inequities across geographies and demographics.”
While millennial drug overdose, alcohol, and suicide deaths have affected all age groups and communities, the millennial population has been impacted the most. The opioid crisis has also been a great contributor to the millennial crisis. The solutions to help overcome the crisis must include greater awareness, education, prevention and treatment strategies, and mental health initiatives that will restore balance and wholeness to the spirit, mind and body of all Americans.
At Legacy Healing Center, our holistic approach to healing focuses on all three areas – mind, body, and spirit. Our patients are given the tools to not only make it out of treatment, but truly thrive in their recovery.
If you or someone you love falls into the Millennial category and needs help breaking free from a drug or alcohol addiction, call Legacy Healing Center today at 888-534-2295 to find out about detox and rehab programs.