This story is sponsored by Renaissance Ranch. Learn more about Renaissance Ranch.

For decades, addicts were viewed as people who were bad, weak or lacked self-control. Today, a sizeable amount of research shows that addiction is a physical brain-altering process, according to a report from National Geographic.

What’s more, abundant research since the 1990s shows significant gender differences in addiction, according to information from Harvard Medical School. Data shows women are more biologically susceptible to addiction than men and psychological and societal differences also play a major role in addiction.

Unfortunately, even many health care professionals fail to recognize important distinctions between men and women who are victims of substance abuse.

Here are five ways women experience addiction differently from men:

Increased susceptibility

Women suffer from anxiety and depression at much greater rates than men. Studies also show women experience more physical pain and feel it more intensely than men. This combination of factors creates an increased likelihood women might choose to self-medicate with drugs or alcohol.

Women also experience increased rates of trauma that can fuel addiction. In an article for Psychology Today, Dr. David Sack explains women have more exposure to incest, sexual abuse and family violence. They can also be more vulnerable than men to physical attacks, which can lead to long-term problems like posttraumatic stress, which can propel them toward substance abuse.

Faster progression

Women "often progress more quickly from using an addictive substance to dependence (a phenomenon known as telescoping)," the Harvard Mental Health Letter states. "They also develop medical or social consequences of addiction faster than men, often find it harder to quit using addictive substances, and are more susceptible to relapse."

Physiologically women metabolize alcohol and drugs differently than men. They tend to feel effects faster and damage to physical organs (including the brain) can occur more rapidly.

Greater emotional and psychological impact

The physical impact on women "may pale in comparison to the emotional and spiritual damage done by addiction," explains Brenda LLiff in a separate article for Psychology Today. "When a woman is addicted it can impact the entire family system &#8212 since women are generally the central organizing factors in their network (caregiver to aging parent, parent to children, caregiver of older partner, etc)."

Facing stigmas

A high percentage of addicts choose not to seek help simply because of the stigma associated with addiction.Drugabuse.gov reports that in 2013, only about 10 percent of 22.7 million American with addictions sought treatment for a drug or alcohol problem.

The fear of associated stigma can be acute for women who fear losing or being separated from their children, spouses or other family members. They are also embarrassed to admit they struggle with addiction and hide their drug or alcohol use from family and friends.

Treatment barriers

Women face additional challenges when seeking addiction recovery treatments. In addition to the already mentioned stigma and family responsibilities, Sack reports women have less access to financial resources and even transportation.

Because many female addiction victims have also been victims of physical and sexual abuse, they can be reluctant to seek treatment in facilities that include men.

Finding hope

Most addicts need help to successfully overcome addiction. Fortunately, research at the National Institute on Drug Abuse shows women who complete addiction recovery treatment are less likely than men to relapse. In one study, six months after treatment 51 percent of the women abstained from drug use, compared to just 25 percent of male patients.

Recovery requires sincere relationships with unconditional love, truth and honesty. Addiction is not a matter of willpower or a lack of a moral compass, but a real illness that requires professional help. Women who are victims of addiction need the support of a dedicated, professional program that understands the unique needs of women.

If you or a loved one is battling addiction and needs help, contact Renaissance Ranch at 1-855-736-7262 to obtain a free consultation.

This story is sponsored by Renaissance Ranch. Learn more about Renaissance Ranch.

When most people think of an athlete, they think of strong, flexible, tough, hard worker, stable, someone to look up to — a hero. However, many don't consider the unique challenges athletes face on and off the field that can lead to addiction.

Pressure to perform well, trying to maintain and hold themselves to a higher standard, feeling not good enough, getting injured time and time again and adjusting to the fast lane life are just a few of the challenges the five athletes mentioned in this article faced. And each, in turn, succumbed to drugs or alcohol or both.

Thankfully, they got the help and support needed to get their lives back on track.

Alema Harrington

Harrington, former BYU running back and KSL-TV weekend sports anchor, led a double life. Born into a football-loving family, Harrington played football in high school and later at BYU. There, he sustained a back injury that required surgery. He began taking prescription painkillers, which quickly turned into recreational use and addiction. When it got to the point where he had to take "ridiculous amounts of pills" to even feel the effects, he turned to heroin.

It wasn't just the physical pain he was trying to repress but emotional as well.

“There was a lot of self-doubt and an identity crisis. Even in high school, I felt inferior," he explained in a Deseret News article. "The thing about pain meds is they numb emotional and physical pain.”

Two decades and eight rehab centers later, Harrington is now in recovery. It wasn't an easy road. He said he believes his religious convictions played a big role in his recovery.

“I am totally incapable of staying sober,” he said. “The fact that I am has nothing to do with me except my willingness to let God run the show. Addiction is a disease; I will always have it. So it needs to be treated on a daily basis just like any other diseases. My daily medication is a connection with my Heavenly Father … I spent 20 years trying to fix it so I could be presentable to God.”

Harrington also finds strength in helping others overcome their addictions and is a licensed counselor at Renaissance Ranch in Salt Lake City.

Max Hall

A news article quotes Max Hall as saying football became his first addiction: “I was in the film room all of the time. I was calling up guys to throw routes,” he recalled. “When I was at home I was watching film. I was obsessed with the game. It made me a great football player.”

And he was a great football player. From 2007-09, he became the winningest quarterback in BYU history. He was known for being ultracompetitive and tough on the field and played through multiple injuries. In 2010, he signed a contract with the Arizona Cardinals. However, that's where his second addiction — painkillers — started.

“That first year with the Cardinals, I suffered three really bad concussions,” Hall says. “Two of them knocked me out cold. I still played. I shouldn’t have. I was on the field and I’d get to the line of scrimmage to start my cadence and I’d forget the play. They finally yank me. I’m upset. They put me back in, I dislocate my shoulder. I’m depressed; I think my NFL career could be over. I’m hurt, and I’m in pain, and I’ve got a whole bottle of pain pills. It’s no excuse, but I think, ‘Hey, when I take that, I feel better.’ Next thing I know, three days later, it’s all gone. I’m calling people to find more. It got worse and worse.”

Hall's addiction came to a head when in 2014, he was arrested for shoplifting and drug possession. It devastated him. However, with help of friends and a lot of hard work, he got back on his feet. Now he coaches high school football.

However, he knows the fight isn't over and he has to take certain steps to ensure he remains sober.

“My No. 1 focus right now, and it has to be every day when I wake up, is to stay sober,” Hall said. “In order to do that, there are things that I have to do. I still have bad days. I’m not perfect. I still make mistakes. I’m still working to improve my relationship with my family and all that stuff. That doesn’t happen overnight.

"It starts with hitting my knees. If I can do that and keep myself right and continue to get more sobriety time, I can help a lot of people. It’s something that’s got to be on my mind every day. I have to wake up every day and make a decision that I’m going to be sober. I’ve got to call a sponsor. I’ve got to go to a meeting. I’ve got to read some material. I’ve got to talk to someone about it to keep myself in check. Every once in a while I take a drug test just to keep myself in line. Whatever I need to do to focus on it. It’s cliché, but it’s day-to-day. What matters is that today, I stay sober.”

Steve Sarkisian

Sarkisian, "Sark," has a long history with football: former BYU quarterback, player for the CFL, head coach for the University of Washington, and then head coach for the University of Southern California. Now he is the offensive coordinator for the Atlanta Falcons. Yet, along his football journey, he encountered some dark times.

In 2015, Sark's struggle with alcoholism became public when he was publicly fired as the head coach for USC. Although he was frustrated with the way things turned out, he feels that the only thing he can control is himself.

"I can't control what other people think, say, do," he said in an interview with Sports Illustrated. "I can control what I do, how I act, the attitude I have every day and how I want to attack and approach each day."

Sixteen months after his job ended at USC, he was hired on as the offensive coordinator with the Falcons. Although he is doing better, he expressed that his struggle with alcoholism is a disease he'll have to work on every day.

"It's not something that is necessarily in the past," he said. "It's something I have to work on every single day, and I do work on it every single day. It's important to me, and it's important to who I am as a person. It's a piece of me, this disease of alcoholism ... but it doesn't define me. I have a lot more to offer than that."

Matthew Kurtz

Kurtz, BYU soccer player who now represents Team USA, was addicted to drugs since he was 16 years old. He grew up in Las Vegas and played all four years on the high school varsity team. From there he went on to play for BYU. Though everything seemed to be going well for him — a tall, handsome, good boy soccer player — Kurtz struggled with wanting to be different and turned to opioids for relief.

“It wasn’t an injury,” Kurtz said in an article for the Las Vegas Reveiw Journal. “I almost wish I could say it was, but it was just curiosity. Trying to be different. Wanting to be different ... It was pain relief from life but not any physical pain."

The real downward spiral began in January 2015. On the last day of soccer tryouts, Kurtz tore his ACL.

“This is right when pretty much everything picked up,” Kurtz said. “All the drug use, everything. Just my depression, all the hate I could imagine. I didn’t communicate with anybody, and it’s just a really dark time. It’s hard for me to even think about.”

He stole from his parents, didn't tell anyone about his struggles and withdrew from his classes. One day he finally realized he had a drug addiction and sought help from his parents. After a few tries in a few outpatient facilities, he was admitted to the Renassaince Ranch where he finally got clean.

He went back to BYU to try his hand at soccer one more time, and in 2017, he became a starter for the first time.

“I’ve made a lot of different mistakes, but I’m thankful, grateful for the opportunities, the time I’ve put forth...” Kurtz said. “I’m not this perfect kid all of the sudden, but I’m trying. I keep working, I keep going, and I’ve had a lot of success, and I’m starting to turn that into more success.”

John Drew

In November 1982, John Drew, who played for the Utah Jazz, was called into his coach's hotel room. There he met with the team's trainer, Dan Sparks, and Frank Layden, the coach, where they told him they knew of his drug problem. At first he tried to deny it, but he finally admitted his addiction to cocaine.

''It was the biggest relief in the world,'' Drew said in an article for The New York Times. ''It took a lot of energy for me to hide what I was doing. But right then, I had a release. 'Thank God,' I thought to myself. 'Somebody knows.' ''

Averaging about 24 points per game, Drew was good at what he did: basketball. And for the first three seasons of the NBA, he remained drug-free. However, after coming from a poor childhood, everything — the money, the girls — started coming at him too fast and he quickly became bored and lost self-discipline. Once he experienced something in the fast lane, there was always something else to chase. And that something else became cocaine.

After a few months, Layden and Sparks noticed something was off and decided to confront him. After the confrontation, he was admitted to an eight-week detoxification facility.

''I never did drugs to kill any bad feeling, because I was hurt or because I had any problems,'' he says. ''I did drugs because I liked them, and they made me feel good.''

Once he became clean, Drew worked to spread the word by speaking at summer camps and to other NBA teams about what he experienced. He also worked to stay sober by attending Alcoholics Anonymous sessions daily and carrying around a large briefcase packed with lists of AA contacts and books on addiction.

Although addiction is very real, hard and devastating, healing and recovery are also real and possible. For more information about treatment for substance abuse, contact Renaissance Ranch.

This story is sponsored by Renaissance Ranch. Learn more about Renaissance Ranch.

Family members of addicts often feel isolated, sad and confused because they don't know how to help addicted loved one. Family members often suffer under heavy emotional burdens such as fear, worry, and despair as they attempt to control an escalating situation.

To help family members better understand how to assist addicted loved ones, Renaissance Ranch is hosting two free family education seminars. The first is Feb. 6 at 6:30 p.m. in Farmington. The second is Feb. 8 at 6:30 p.m. in Sandy. Those interested can register at renaissanceranch.com.

Knowing how to be the most effective support person for their addicted loved one can help family members find peace and healing for themselves amid the chaos of addiction.

Christine Dixon, co-owner of the Renaissance Ranch Addiction Recovery Treatment Center and a Utah mother who has been working with the addicted and family members for more than 10 years, offered these tips:

Addiction is a family illness

Addiction affects each member of the family. Addiction is chronic, progressive, and potentially fatal. It is a very serious matter, yet there is great hope! Addicted loved ones are often viewed as bad individuals who need to be good instead of sick people who need appropriate help to become well.

“As a mother with two sons recovering from heroin addiction, I will be forever grateful someone told me to treat my sons’ addiction as though they had cancer, Dixon explained. “If they had cancer, I would research the best hospital, doctor, medication, and treatment. Learning that addiction is a chronic brain disease helped my husband and me to stop judging our sons for their seemingly poor choices and gave us a sense of urgency to find the best help possible for them.

“What we didn’t realize at the time was that as family members, knowledge about recovery principles and practices would not only help us to more appropriately help our sons but would also help us heal in profound ways individually and as an entire family!”

Family members have choices

Just as family members hope loved ones will use their agency to choose to heal from addiction, family members can use their agency to move from hurting to healing.

Dixon said the best advice she was given 12 years ago to help her sons, marriage and family, was for her and her husband to start attending 12-step addiction recovery meetings.

“This allowed us to become educated in the process of recovery and to network with people who had found success and serenity amid the storm of addiction.”

As family members work the 12 steps for themselves, they are able to distinguish the fine line between what is helpful and what is hurtful in family relationships.

Learning how to help

In traditional family meetings such as AA’s family program (Al-Anon), participants learn they didn’t cause and can’t control or cure the addiction. While this may be true, family members often unknowingly contribute to the cycle of addiction through destructive codependent behaviors such as enabling, persecuting, or suffering behaviors.

There is an understanding in the recovery world that addiction is a symptom of underlying causes and conditions. Individuals often report relationship conflict as the primary cause of relapse back into addiction, which almost always involves the parental or spousal relationship.

“Attending Family Group classes (with a 12-step emphasis) while my sons were in treatment was life-changing for me to recognize ways I could support my sons in their recovery and not support their addiction,” Dixon said.

Historically treatment has targeted primarily the addicted loved one; however, studies today underscore the critical importance of involving family members in the recovery process. Doing so can encourage addicted loved ones to seek, adhere to treatment recommendations and increase the likelihood of long-term sobriety.

Family members attending family groups are more likely to achieve peace from the despair of addiction if they help their loved ones find treatment, attend family education groups, and work their own 12 step program!

For free public family group education classes go to renaissanceranch.com.

This story is sponsored by Renaissance Ranch. Learn more about Renaissance Ranch.

When a loved one suffers from addiction, it hurts the whole family, particularly those closest to them.

Watching your spouse lose control of his or her life is much like watching him or her walk directly into oncoming traffic. You know what will happen should they continue on their path, and you know they need help.

Perhaps you have stepped in before, rescuing your loved one from his or her self-destruction, causing you to feel good about your ability to help. Maybe your efforts to stop your loved one from being “hit by the train” have succeeded many times over, and you feel like without you, he or she would not be alive.

And perhaps, to some extent, you are right.

Had you not intervened, your loved one might not be alive today. That thought alone gives you a sense of pride and purpose. As difficult as living with an addict is, it feels good to be needed.

But, have you ever stopped to think that perhaps your constant aid and rescue is having a negative effect on your spouse’s sobriety? It’s a fine line to go from helping to enabling. It is known as codependency.

So, what is codependency?

Codependency happens when one has an emotional or psychological reliance on a spouse or family member, letting that person’s behavior affect him or her — even becoming obsessed with controlling that person’s behavior. Often labeled as a “fixer,” the codependent spouse places the needs of his or her struggling loved one over their needs, doing almost anything to keep a relationship alive, even if that relationship is unhealthy.

Someone with codependent behaviors will feel responsible for other people and their feelings. They will feel anxiety, pity and guilt when other people have a problem, and even feel compelled — almost forced — to help that person solve the problem. Codependent persons often have a desperate need to please others, will show feelings of perfectionism with an overwhelming need for control and will often have an underlying fear of rejection.

While your efforts may seem noble to you, they may very well be in vain.

Yes, your spouse does need you, but not the way you think.

What can you do instead?

While solely relying on you to overcome addiction is not a healthy or even an effective way to do so, you can still be of help to your spouse.

First things first, admit your loved one into a residential treatment center. Doing so is the first step to full recovery from their addiction.

However, with your codependency, you may find that it’s hard to let go of someone who had been reliant on you. Much like your loved one who goes through withdrawals when apart from the drug, you too may begin to have similar feelings when letting go of your loved one for a time. Fortunately for you, many residential treatment centers also take into account the effect addiction has on the whole family by offering programs and family counseling to treat things like codependency and other related issues.

Renaissance Ranch offers support groups for codependent people to find purpose beyond their loved one's addiction. With the right help, you and your loved one can work on recovering and rebuilding your lives back up.

This story is sponsored by Renaissance Ranch. Learn more about Renaissance Ranch.

Addiction grabs hold of the strong and pure in heart just as vigorously as it does the young and reckless, stripping each person down to someone they and their loved ones cannot recognize. Addiction makes the humble defiant, the confident weak, and the soul seekers into lonely shells of what they once were.

But, just as completely devastating as it is to see what addiction can do to a person, it is equally as miraculous to witness recovery, especially when completed with the key aspect of spirituality.

But what is spirituality?

Many see spirituality as something that is only tied to religion. This is often off-putting and deters addicts from seeking help from spiritual-based treatment centers.

It is important to know that to be spiritual, one does not need to have religion or even be religious.

Religion refers to common practices done within a particular group, whereas spirituality is achieved when one recognizes a power beyond his or her own, with a goal to seek purpose in life and to connect with things that are often unexplained. Spirituality is seeking love, finding love and reciprocating love to people and the environment around you.

Why is spirituality important in addiction recovery?

Spirituality is important in addiction recovery because addiction can make people selfish, rendering them unable to see beyond themselves, disconnecting them from their own world and the world around them.

To fully recover from addiction, spirituality must be present. One must be able to look outside themselves to find a higher power beyond their own. They must connect with family and friends through forgiveness and love, search for a purpose in life that is beyond drugs and to pray or hope for strength to overcome the addiction that has taken control of their life.

How can one find spirituality when addiction has taken hold?

Finding spirituality amidst the all-encompassing darkness is a difficult step to take, but it is possible if you are willing.

You must be humble and submissive, realizing that your life has become unmanageable on your own. You need to see that even in your depths of despair, that there is hope — a hope that comes when you put your trust in a power beyond your own. You must accept your weaknesses, seek forgiveness from others and look to forgive those whom you feel have hurt you, too.

To remain spiritually centered, daily prayer and meditation to seek healing and comfort will keep you focused on spiritual things even when addiction is calling your name.

If you or your loved one are searching for help with addiction recovery through a spiritually centered program, Renaissance Ranch has an experienced staff that can help. More than that, it knows that recovery is best achieved when spirituality is present and has a program centered on that.

For more information on how you can get help, go to renaissanceranch.net.

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This story is sponsored by Renaissance Ranch. Learn more about Renaissance Ranch.

When your loved one is struggling with a drug or alcohol addiction, it takes a toll on the entire family. You may be experiencing feelings of hopelessness and even frustration toward them. This normal, but don’t give up just yet. Your loved one needs you more than ever, but there are better ways to handle the situation than others.

Renaissance Ranch has brought you seven steps to take when your loved one has an addiction.

1. Educate yourself

To the person who doesn’t struggle with addiction, the solution is as easy as putting the drink down or throwing the pills away. But for the one struggling, it is not that simple.

Unless you have experienced addiction yourself, you can't fully understand it, but you can come close by educating yourself. Conduct online research on the effects of addiction. Contact a certified specialist. Talk to someone who has been through it.

Knowing what your loved one is going through will help you feel compassion for them, which is crucial to getting them the help they need.

2. Live your life

Seeing a loved one go through something as difficult as addiction can often drag you down. Without having even taken a drug yourself, you may begin to feel symptoms of fatigue, depression and anxiety as the stress begins to take a toll on you.

If you want to help your loved one, you need to be on top of your game, which means that you must keep living your life.

Be a parent to your children. Go for walks with your spouse. Go to church. Be the very best employee you can be. Live your life.

By doing so, you will maintain the ability to help when you need to.

3. Be observant

While educating yourself is a key factor to helping your loved one, drug addiction is different for everyone. Take time to observe your loved one’s behavior. Take careful notes of patterns, triggers — things that he or she reacts negatively to — and behaviors that are of concern.

It is also important to encourage key family members to do the same so that if it comes to the point when you need to approach your loved one, you can determine how to best do that.

4. Intervention

If the addiction comes to the point where you feel like you need to bring attention to the problem in a more structured manner, an intervention may be necessary.

Keep in mind, however, that an intervention is not about ganging up on your loved one, but more about bringing hope, concern and a solution to the problem. And while some have had success conducting interventions on their own, seek professional help with trained interventionists — especially if your loved one has a history of violence, suicidal tendencies or serious mental illness.

5. Get professional help

Getting professional help is not only a difficult step for the one struggling with addiction, but also for his or her family members and friends. After all, you know your loved one, and who better to help than those who know and love them?

The problem is, when you are so close to the situation, feelings can be very raw, making it difficult to make progress. When outside help is introduced, you are offered a new set of eyes that are not emotionally connected and can see clearly through the muddled mess of addiction.

6. Attend family support groups

While it is very apparent that your loved one is in need of outside help, what many fail to recognize is the toll that it has on the entire family unit. It is important to repair your family through things like family support groups so when your loved one is on the path to recovery, you can be able to weather the storms that are likely to come after.

7. Never stop loving them

Despite the hostility that you may be receiving from your loved one and the frustration you may be feeling toward them, deep down everyone wants to be loved and to show that same love back.

Keep that in mind during the hard times, and never stop showing love and kindness toward your loved one struggling. Someday you will have them back. And when you do, you want them to know that there is a place filled with loving people they can come back to.