Episode 30: Boomers and the Risky Use of Drugs and Alcohol

Jun 8, 2023

After a lifetime of casual attitudes toward substance use among baby boomers, their rate of accidential overdoses and alcohol-related deaths are climbing.

In this conversation, researcher Alexis Kuerbis explains why. 

Kuerbis is an Associate Professor at the Silberman School of Social Work at Hunter College. Her research speciality is vlunerable polulations who use substances problematically.

In this conversation with Host Gail Ferguson Jones, she explains that:

• Baby boomers are using drugs and alcohol longer into later life than previous generations.
• Misuse of prescription drugs for pain and other ailments is a growing trend among seniors, leading to addiction later in life, and sometimes accidental overdoses from drug interactions.
• Physical changes that make it harder to metabolize substances as people age are a leading cause of chronic illness and co-morbidity among older adults.
• Alcohol is the most widely-used and socially-acceptable substance and a common killer. It is also often a factor in the development of dementia.
•  Seniors who recognize they have a problem with substance use usually respond well to treatment.
• She shares the signs families may look for to determine if an older loved one is indulging in risky substance use and how to strike up a conversation that could lead them to agree to treatment.

Learn more about getting your loved one sober at: https://www.alcoholscreening.org/#/home

To learn more about The Buttrfly Effect Peer Recovery Program for those who love someone struggling with addiction (and get a free video) at: https://linktr.ee/GailFergusonJones

Music for The Buttrfly Effect Podcast, "Inspire Me," is by Mixaund Bandcamp at: mixaundbandcamp.com