Women and shame: narratives of recovery from alcohol dependence.

Abstract

Objective: Existing literature indicates distinct pathways and the key role of shame and stigma into alcohol dependence (AD) and recovery for women. Internationally, there is a paucity of research exploring these factors from women's perspectives.

Methods and measures: Taking a critical realist epistemological position, unstructured life story interviews were analysed via narrative analysis to explore how seven women from the UK, storied shame in their recovery from AD.

Results: Shame followed a common trajectory across participants' stories, appearing as a reoccurring factor throughout AD and recovery. Participants narrated shame as gendered, contributing to a loss of personal control in defining a valued personal identity. Drinking began as a shame-management strategy but evolved into a source of shame, compounded by fears of being labelled an 'alcoholic woman'. Recovery involved reclaiming the self through de-shaming a shame-based identity and developing a positive, non-drinking identity. By evaluating 'shaming' recovery frameworks, sharing stories and reconstructing their own, participants were able to work through shame, resist pathologising identity labels and internalise esteemed 'sober' identities.

Conclusion: This research provides important insights into the intersection between shame, identity, gender and culture in women's recovery from AD. Implications for clinical practice, future research and policy are considered.