ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION: Investigating the situations that lead women to seek treatment for drug addiction is necessary, as women experience the organic, social, and family damage caused by addiction intensely. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to describe situations that lead women to seek treatment for drug addiction. METHOD: This is an exploratory, descriptive study, with a qualitative approach, carried out in a CAPS Ad service in the state of Minas Gerais (CAAE: 92864518.4.0000.5145). Open interviews were conducted in September 2018 with 24 of 28 women assisted by the service. The discourse of the collective subject was the basis of the data analysis. RESULTS: Social, family, and health problems were the main damaging impact of drug addiction among the women and were represented by the following: death of loved ones, violence from partners, theft, cognitive problems, hypertension, and diabetes. Specifically, it was affective and material losses experienced during the period of addiction that led the women to seek treatment. FINAL CONSIDERATIONS: It is necessary to facilitate women's access to treatment for drug addiction and to incorporate their families into the treatment through activities that will reinforce the former's commitment to any proposed therapeutics; in addition, goals to reconstruct bonds within the family environment should be established.
