By Anna McKenzie
Does wealth affect your likelihood of becoming addicted to drugs or alcohol? The ability to buy a drink when you want one is just one factor that may influence the development of addiction. Other factors like the perception of substance use, accessibility, availability, and social environment can also play a role in fostering a lack of control over drug use, drinking, and other types of behaviors that can become very damaging.
Addiction and Money
An abundance of resources can be a blessing, but not when self-discipline is the only barrier between you and addictive substances or behaviors. Greater access to a more comprehensive variety of alcoholic beverages, as well as higher quality drugs, precipitates not only more widespread use but more frequent use. Studies reveal that the propensity to addiction and money may go hand in hand.
Greater access to a more comprehensive variety of alcoholic beverages, as well as higher quality drugs, precipitates not only more widespread use but more frequent use.
In fact, a 2015 Gallup poll of over 1,000 American adults showed that 78% of people with an annual household income of $75K or more say that they drink alcohol, an 11% increase compared to those who make between $30-75K, and a 31% increase compared to those who make less than $30K.
Not only that, but upper-income drinkers are having drinks more frequently than their lower-income peers; 47% of upper-income drinkers reveal they had a drink within the last 24 hours, compared to just 18% of the lower-income drinkers.
“These differences may reflect that upper-income Americans can better afford to purchase alcohol, but upper-income and well-educated Americans are more likely than other Americans to engage in activities in which people commonly drink, such as dining out,” states Gallup. Additionally, because drinking is more common among higher socioeconomic Americans — who tend to interact with others in their same tax bracket — social norms toward drinking may differ among Americans with higher versus lower socioeconomic statuses.
Additionally, there’s a trickle-down effect when it comes to wealth and addiction. Research from Child Development shows that children of affluent parents tend to be more susceptible to developing substance use issues, likely due to the pressure to excel. Wealth environments can be highly competitive, and children can develop psychosomatic symptoms as well as anxiety and depression in the pursuit of high achievement. This, combined with the accessibility of substances, can foster addiction problems.
Wealth and Addiction: A Distorted Social Perception
Wealth can make substance use seem trivial, even glamorous. A “party” lifestyle that includes an abundance of alcohol and drugs is more likely to be seen as fun and interesting than something to be frowned upon. Addiction is rarely considered a consequence; users bat away the idea of obsession with the perception that their consumption is recreational and normal.
An interview with Meadows alum Nicole Andreas on Recovery Replay helps paint a picture of life in a wealthy environment: “To me, an alcoholic was the derelict on the corner, sleeping in the alleyway drinking a bottle of mouthwash. That’s the alcoholic. But when [alcohol is] on the shelf, on display, you know, at $50 a bottle, $100 a bottle, and everyone’s dressed up and talking about art and culture and politics and poetry, then they’re all fabulous. I could never see that as dysfunction. That was the height of success.”
Pressure to conform to a certain type of “success” lifestyle can affect your willingness to integrate drugs and alcohol into your life. It can also create anxiety or depression about losing that lifestyle or status, which may perpetuate substance use. The desire to self-indulge, simply because you can, may grow and spiral out of control. Other destructive habits may suddenly feel permissible. Wealth, and the pursuit of wealth, can also become an addiction.
The aforementioned research by Child Development on the psychological costs of material wealth quotes a preceding study to offer the following summation: “Wealth is addictive. It enticingly offers happiness, but it cannot provide satisfaction, so those who attain some of it keep thinking more of it will provide satisfaction … [Those] who have become addicted to it … can experience severe withdrawal when they can’t get it. Withdrawal from wealth, and the hope of wealth, can be terrifying.” The pressure to maintain wealth and status also inform fame and addiction struggles. Media criticism, extreme highs and lows, publicity, and party culture — as well as the tendency to compare yourself (or be compared) to others in the spotlight — can drive you toward unmitigated substance use and process addictions.
Media criticism, extreme highs and lows, publicity, and party culture — as well as the tendency to compare yourself (or be compared) to others in the spotlight — can drive you toward unmitigated substance use and process addictions.
Luxury Addiction Treatment at The Meadows Malibu
Fame and addiction struggles are not uncommon. The pressures of wealth and the opportunities it affords can damage your physical, mental, and emotional health. For the best chance at a fulfilling, sustainable life in recovery, addiction should be treated comprehensively. The Meadows Malibu offers luxury addiction treatment in a discreet, intimate setting where you can untangle yourself from substance use and rediscover your authentic self. You can step away from the pressures of your lifestyle and find refuge in a safe, comfortable environment to experience whole-life healing. Contact us today to learn more.