So more pure alcohol goes directly into the bloodstream of women, causing more rapid damage and deterioration. This can mean that the disease progresses much more quickly in women. Add to this the severe shame of alcoholism in women, and they are likely to come into treatment much later in the process. Libby's treatment was on a women's unit at Caron. Being with women not only helped her understand herself better, it was terribly important to her recovery, she says.
Women tend to do better in treatment with other women than when they are in a mixed group.
Men, on the other hand, do better in a mixed group than when they are treated exclusively with other men. The explanation, Beyer feels, is that around men, women tend to be more inhibited, and worry about what the men think. When men are with women, however, men tend to be more open and vulnerable. If treatment is to be effective, women need a great deal of safety. Therefore, we can assume that one function of the alcohol is to deaden the pain.