In a shocking recent interview given to the Telegraph, the founder and CEO of an addiction service revealed annual addiction figures have shot up 500%.
Accounting for figures from Feb 2020 to Feb 2021, and comparing that same period with the previous year, industry expert Nick Conn states this massive jump – is mostly made up of men.
Who is Nick Conn?
Nick Conn is the founder of addiction advisory service Help4Addiction. A former police officer, Nick has been vocal on his own story, in the ultimate hope that it will encourage other men to come forward and ask for recovery help. Soe far, at least, it seems to be working.
Nick revealed that he gets hundreds of messages every week from those that need help. They come to him through his organisation and through his social media channels. Nick says 75% of them are men, a figure he hasn’t seen in any of his decade of experience in the addiction recovery sector.
While still working in the Force, Nick Conn found he was unable to keep up with the demands and dangers of the police officer’s lifestyle. He turned to drugs out of desperation, finding cocaine to give him the confidence boost he needed to function. Eventually, he had to decide between his life and his drug addiction. He quit the force, went to rehab, and lived to tell a story that has inspired numerous addicts to get help.
Along the way, Nick has become somewhat of a national celebrity. Having helped thousands of people, he has racked up an impressive 13.7 thousand Instagram followers. In another life, perhaps, Nick Conn would have made an excellent influencer.
Why are Men Suffering?
There are many factors in play as to why men are suffering. We would cautiously volunteer that times and attitudes are changing. Perhaps a small percentage of the increase is due to men finally feeling able to ask for help. On the other hand, a global pandemic is enough to push any one of us to addiction.
Reliance on drugs and alcohol to cope with the current world news events has become almost commonplace. The NHS is overwhelmed, so support services on their end have slowed to a halt. There are job losses across every sector. According to Nick, all these circumstances are coming together to create huge problems for the average guy.
“The pandemic is fuelling addictions.” Says Nick. He maintains that all an addict wants to do, is to take drugs or drink in private, where their familiesdon’t know about it. When you add the isolation of the pandemic into this equation, you have the perfect conditions in which an addict can hide their problem.
Nick says that he would be dead if he’d had to live through such a thing as an addict. The truth is that we will need to wait for the ONS to give us the figures of death by overdose for this year. That’s a sad truth for anyone to have to face.
Risk Factors for Males and Addiction in 2021
Some of the factors that put men at greater risk currently, include the following things.
Attitudes
Despite modern advances in attitude, there is still the prevailing belief that a man cannot show his emotions. Men who have been educated under this belief system are less likely to reach out for help when they need it.
Shame
A man feels the responsibility to provide for his family. In many working-class families, that traditional concept of the traditional family unit still lingers. Men who can’t earn their family’s keep are often ashamed and turn to addiction.
Pressure
Again, that pressure to be the provider can send a man to addiction. If consistently applied over a long period of time, even the strongest of us can break. The longer the global situation continues for, the higher the final tally of those lost to addiction throughout is going to be.
Loneliness
While an addict seeks out loneliness to disguise their problem from their loved ones, someone who is heading towards addiction could find loneliness pushes them over the edge. If you are lonely after a long period in a relationship, this is especially risky for relapse potential.
Lack of Support
All the above reasons lead to men feeling unsupported. Whether they fear the wrath of their partner or the loss of friendships, they don’t talk about it. They don’t reach out, and they think it is somehow less masculine if they are forced to.
What to do if you are suffering from addiction?
If you live in England or Wales and all the above sounds uncomfortably close to home, there are services out there that can help you. Nick Conn is the founder of Help4Addiction, his own organisation that can advise you on your options. Even if all you want is a chat from a non-judgmental place, Nick insists you give them a call. Their number is 0203 955 7700 and they even offer a free call back service for those that contact them out of hours.
If you are at the end of your rope already, reaching out to Nick via private messaging might be the quickest way to get the help you need. You can catch him on Instagram under the tag @dadinrehab. You will also find him on Twitter under the same name.
Nick runs a podcast and a web series detailing talks with others in your position, as well as getting industry expert advice. Tune in to stay up to date with what is what in the recovery from addiction sector. Follow his YouTube workshops to get great hints and tips about recovering from drugs, alcohol, or other behavioural addictions.
If you just want to learn more about Nick himself, you can visit his LinkedIn pages, where you can also learn more about his organisation. You can even learn about Nick and his firm over on Facebook.
Website link = http://www.help4addiction.co.uk/
Instagram link = https://www.instagram.com/dadinrecovery/
Topics #addiction in Britain #Britain than ever before #Greater numbers
