Getting Rid of Substance Abuse: A Look at Experiences, Opinions, and Facilitators of Psychological Well-being After Addiction Recovery in Females

Addiction is one of the main obstacles to achieving psychological well-being in a person. This study analyzed the experiences, opinions, and facilitators of psychological well-being in women after addiction recovery. 

This study was conducted using a qualitative and grounded theory approach. The participants were selected through purposive sampling. The data were saturated through semi-structured and open-ended interviews with 14 women who had given up addiction and had follow-up visits to addiction rehabilitation centers in Districts 18 to 20 from April to September 2022 in Tehran. The collected data were analyzed using open, axial, and selective coding proposed by Strauss and Corbin (2008). 

Analysis of the lived experiences of the women who recovered from addiction revealed five main factors including causal conditions (physical condition, mental/psychological distress, and economic condition), contextual conditions (receiving social support and environmental restrictions), facilitators (social support and influence, individual determination and effort, and religious beliefs), consequences (cognitive, psychological, and behavioral consequences), and strategies (individual and social strategies). 

Participants pointed out that the strong facilitators to getting rid of addiction were social support, individual determination and effort, and religious beliefs. The insights from this study add to the knowledge about recovery from addiction among addicted women who are about to quit and can contribute to a better understanding of facilitating factors and treatment and rehabilitation strategies in the process of psychological therapies.