Few gen x going to rehab?
Posted by thewormthatneverdies@reddit | GenX | View on Reddit | 249 comments
I work in the kitchen at a hospital. Part of my job is to deliver hot meals to an off-campus facility a mile away. It serves as a place for people with addiction issues to wait on a bed in a rehab so they don't have to stay in the behavioral health unit. I bring back their menu selections for the next day which have their name and birth date. The birth dates range from the 40s to the early 2000s. But, I've noticed there's very few from gen x. Particularly, the 70s. Actually, I don't think I've ever seen a birth date in the 70s. Does gen x have a low rate of addiction? Are they just good at functioning with an active addiction? What do you think?
Sgt-Rob-USMC@reddit
Gen-X were rebels… We watched our elders fall victim and become meth, heroin and crackheads, so most X-er’s were just smoking weed, or nothing at all, because f-that… natural rebels rebel absolutely anything, good or bad…
GladiusGSF@reddit
Our mothers didn’t raise quitters😉
jlw971@reddit
We’ve already been rehabilitated or died.
Hungry-Compote-2306@reddit
Yup. Between depression, heroin, and meth, plus having to be in teens and 20s through the plague years (which took plenty of us that addiction didn't have time to), this is what I see for us too. We rode hard, got in deep, and the survivors are fewer in number than from other generations because ours is smaller.
YouDear9720@reddit
We were scared straight. Nancy Reagan told us not to do drugs. And what about our brains turning into fried eggs?
Mikeyjf@reddit
It's true. When somebody with that level of street cred tells you to straighten up, you pay attention mister.
Accidental-Aspic2179@reddit
Honestly it's because we grew up with it and luckily got older and were able to move on, but a lot of us died. A lot. Gen X were teens and in their 20s when the opiate epidemic started. Those of us who used either got clean, are maintaining, or ended up dying of an OD. Been there, done that, some made it, lots didn't.
hippiechick725@reddit
Not for nothing, but I partied hard back in the day and never saw heroin, not once.
chamrockblarneystone@reddit
I was going to say oxy must have been like the grim reaper on us. We had the insurance to get it and the money to keep buying it. I worked in a Gen X dive bar for years and coke and oxy were everywhere. They had their hooks in me. I shook them off. Now I’m trying to control my bing drinking. That’s proved to be difficult
Beerinspector@reddit
Oxy’s didn’t even come out until the late 90’s. You had a bunch of friends on Oxy from the get go?
Lazy-Associate-4508@reddit
Yeah I'm an elder millennial (1982,) and my friends and I were in our late teens and early twenties when the icy thing exploded. By age 21 in 2003, I'd lost 5 friends to opiate overdoses. By 2013, I'd lost 3 more.
It's a uniquely American tragedy: young lives snuffed out by a pharmaceutical company that managed to convince the medical establishment that they invented a "non-addictive opiate." Another example of "profits over people," and similar things are happening today.
dreaminginteal@reddit
"All the people who died, died
All the people who died, died
They were all my friends
And they died..."
Accidental-Aspic2179@reddit
I completely wore out a CD of D-12's "Devil's Night." The one with Eminem. Purple pills. I could probably still remember every word on that album if I were to listen to it. Loved it. Around the same time I went to my first Ozzfest. Charlotte.
Substantial_Risk_955@reddit
My buddies got hooked on Oxy and graduated to heroin. What’s insane is, the heroin overdoses that were happening in Boston initially had a cover story that there was a serial killer giving kids a “hot shot” because the parents refused to believe they kids were using needles because that’s how an addict used drugs. Mid to late 90’s were wild.
decent_kitten@reddit
My sister did a lot of drugs from a young age and she was messed up. It was a really icky situation for her and I did not want to be like that.
So, yeah, I partied here & there throughout the 90’s, but nothing regular. Then, mid-90’s, I was like, “Okay. That’s enough. I want other things now. Travel & parties aren’t it, anymore”.
With that said, I think I had access to more drugs than most people have access to, until, about 50-ish. I could get a lot of drugs for little to no cost. So, I think that helped with them not being so enticing?
Anyway, I was born in 69.
72vintage@reddit
I was a heavy binge drinker from about '91 to '01. It eventually landed me in jail. I had court ordered "alcohol education" and it actually opened up my eyes to what I was doing and why I was doing it. Since I wasn't physically addicted I didn't need rehab, and I quit on my own for about a year, before I slowly started seeing if I could handle moderate drinking. I found I could have only a couple, or I will lose it and spend the rest of the night drinking til the booze is gone or my money is gone.
I think a lot of us have been like that. We had a party culture where we would tear it up 2 or 3 nights a week, but we were working and taking care of business the rest of the time. Most of us weren't actually addicted unless we got into harder drugs. Everything was recreational for us...
CitizenChatt@reddit
Those crazy nights, I do remember in my youth I do recall, those were the best times, most of all 😎
b5wolf@reddit
Most of Gen X grew up being told that mental health issues and addictions were something to be hidden away; therapy was considered a fault, sort of a what-is-wrong-with-you and not a I-want-to-be-better. So we learned how to be high functioning, quit altogether or died.
CitizenChatt@reddit
"Rehab is for quitters" 😅
SmilingChinchilla@reddit
I quit booze like an Xer would: by himself, of my own will.
ConfidentRecover3343@reddit
Me too. AA sounded like to much of a commitment 😅. I was like "NEVER drink again", let's just start with stopping till I don't want it real bad and see how it goes from there.
Flaky_Wheel60B@reddit
I’m an atheist and the whole “accept a higher power” things was a big turn off
So I stopped drinking on my own, I used shrooms to help out with the mental side of it.
Cdn65@reddit
Good for you, and well done... that's not easy.
Quirky_Ball_3519@reddit
Most of the people I knew in the 90s were on heroin. I think about half of that friend group died. I moved away to get completely out of it and would hear once in a while someone had passed away but beyond that have no idea who else passed on or who got their life together. I was lucky, but I’m still sad for those who weren’t.
cantcountnoaccount@reddit
Numerically, there are fewer Gen X than other generations. It was the so-called “baby bust” with historic low birth rate.
44ariah44@reddit
Not true in UK. In 2024, Millennials were the largest generational cohort in the United Kingdom, comprising approximately 21.7 percent of the population. Gen X was the next largest generation at 20.3 percent of the population, followed by Gen Z at 19.6 percent, and the Baby Boomer Generation on 19.3 percent. People belonging to earlier generations accounted for just 5.9 percent of the UK's population in this year.
cantcountnoaccount@reddit
In the US it’s 19.8% Boomer, 19.2% Xers, 21% Millennial and 20% Z. Xers are the smallest cohort currently living.
I don’t believe the UK had the same type of postwar baby boom inspired by rampant prosperity in the years 45-50. Wasn’t rationing still in effect until 52?
44ariah44@reddit
WW2 wrecked the UK, no rampant prosperity here! I think rationing ended in 54 officially.
mimi6614@reddit
Most of the coke heads I knew had heart attacks in their early 40s and quit. The ones that didn't had massive coronaries in their early 50s and died.
gilesachrist@reddit
I spent my teens and 20s doing whatever came my way, always being careful with anything addictive, ( would not touch a substance for long enough for it to get its hooks in me, but towards my 30s it wasn’t around as much, and I just kind of stopped and started drinking. The drinking got me. Not a physical addiction but well beyond normal drinking.
I have been California sober since 2020. I don’t miss it and I’m grateful it never got worse than it did. I don’t know that it is generational, I have high school friends who didn’t make it, but for me, I somehow managed to escape needing professional help. I honestly think weed being legal in my state may have saved me.
Recently I have been realizing I don’t like being around people and that’s ok. I spent my youth surrounding myself with people and parties and the drugs and alcohol made that tolerable. My family is about as may people as I can handle being around, once it gets beyond my core people, I have a hard time, if they are drinking it is worse. I don’t stay out for long when I do go out.
Ok_Math_59@reddit
Guess I’m the exception, . I’m 53 , been to rehab 4 times in the last 15 years , always of my own volition (no court order, no family intervention) turns out what I hoped was a tendency towards wild partying was actually real addiction. After several attempts to withdraw and kick it solo, I said fuck this I need help. I’m happy to say I’m 18 months clean/sober and also quit cigarettes. Would like to say I wish I could’ve gotten it sooner but, hey, it takes what it takes and I’m grateful for my sobriety as much as I’m grateful for the experiences I’ve endured.
RunRunRabbitRunovich@reddit
We either partied early and then tapered off, or some of us sadly overdosed, and some people got sober. Then there’s the rest of us who still do stuff occasionally but since we have kids, grandkids and or parents to take care of only do stuff on a rare occasion to blow off steam
TJH99x@reddit
GenX solves their own problems, we generally believe no one else cares to help.
CinnyToastie@reddit
Truly. I feel like in our group nobody would ask for help until the house was on fire.
gster531@reddit
So many of us stopped drinking because it wasn’t fun anymore and we value our brain cells
CinnyToastie@reddit
That, but for me it was the next day's 'hangxiety'. That was the worst part for me. Blood sugar drops suddenly and wakes you up out of your sleep, and you sit there staring at the ceiling wondering wth you did last night. Later on I learned that if you kept juice by your bed and took a few swallows on that blood sugar drop, you'd go back to sleep. But overall, nah. It just got to the point where the fun wasn't worth the next day's anxiety. I still don't miss it but lawd we had fun!
CrankyDoo@reddit
It’s a theme I see a lot in this thread and mirrors my own experience exactly. I literally just one day, while experiencing the misery of a minor hangover (wasn’t even my worst), decided “I’m tired of feeling like this and if I don’t stop it’s not going to end well” and I have never had a drop since. It’s been over ten years now so I don’t think I will be going back.
Few-Pineapple-5632@reddit
Started drinking in high school, started doing drugs in college. Did forced rehab and stopped doing drugs in my 30s. Stopped drinking in my 40s.
BadHairDay-1@reddit
I'm currently California sober. I stopped doing hard drugs in my 20s, which is also when I began. I did the bulk of my drinking during my teen years. Somehow, I never did rehab and was able to be secretive with the drugs, except for with those who I "partied" with. I predict that any rehab I might need in the future will be related to a joint replacement. I'm terrified of breaking a hip or pelvic bone.
Catfiche1970@reddit
I did all my drugs early and got clean by 30.
Substantial_Risk_955@reddit
Here’s my hot take. They’re already dead or still grinding. So many of my high school guys (1972-3) overdosed and died in the early and mid 2000’s. Oxy and graduated to heroin. It’s wild to say that and my current friends and neighbors wonder where I grew up. Southern suburbs of Boston. All white kids of lower to upper middle means. The rest of us never graduated beyond beers and cocktails. Just drinking and trying to watch our bloodwork and pay for our kids college.
BostonBruinsLove@reddit
I grew up in the southern suburbs of Boston too (Norwood), born in 72 and I don’t know anyone who OD’d and died in the mid 2000s. What town were you in?
Substantial_Risk_955@reddit
Marshfield
Peacanpiepussycat@reddit
We’re out here just raw dogging it . My husband and I were huge party people back in the day , in our late 30s ( we are 50 now ) we just got tired of feeling like shit the next day ..Age catches up w you. We both quit drinking , drugs …no rehab . Now we smoke a joint here and there
DerpsV@reddit
I think maybe it's a mix of functioning addicts and/or already quit or died. I had a few friends not make it out of the 90's. I have a few high functioning addict friends that will not be changing. But most of my cohort just grew up or past that phase.
Almost all of us have quit smoking, in fact, the more I think if it, the only smoking friends I have are boomer/Jones generation. I don't really know anyone that does hard drugs any more, or they're really good at hiding it. Just about every one does edibles/smokes with it being legal now. Drinking is where I see the most high functioning alcoholics, or the opposite, completely dry/years sober. Not a lot in between to drink with me. I drink about a bottle of wine a month and just drink with my husband since it's a whole can of worms trying to figure everyone else out.
But that's just my little group. I think Gen X is just resistant to getting that kind of help at this point, if they haven't already gotten it.
MiseryisCompany@reddit
I knew several people who died of their alcoholism before turning 50.
IT_learning_only@reddit
I think this is the culprit. Seriously bad lifestyles take a person in their 40s and 50s. Their body acts like it's double that age.
RealityDependency@reddit
We know how to abuse our drugs and alcohol responsibly.
Euphoric-Anxiety-623@reddit
I think it's because they died or got clean when they were younger.
TrentWolfred@reddit
Okay. But, explain the distinction from the folks who were born between the 40s and the mid/late-60s.
Elesia@reddit
Once you blow past the point of no return there's no reason to try anymore unless mandated by a court.
Ask me how many Boomers I know with cancer who still smoke.
Euphoric-Anxiety-623@reddit
They're not actually human?
katiekat214@reddit
About two years ago, my best friend got told she had to quit drinking or she was going to die. I examined my relationship with alcohol and realized I was a binge drinker. So we quit together. She did outpatient rehab with a pill to help get through withdrawals. Since I didn’t drink daily, I didn’t have withdrawals. We’re on day 706. We both feel a lot better, even though occasionally we both still have those moments.
econkle@reddit
Born in the 70’s I could be wasted and you’d never know.
smallwonder25@reddit
Practice makes perfect
lalacourtney@reddit
Yeah we mask it very well
Biddahmunk@reddit
I would guess that we’re actually the generation with highest rate of alcoholism! But least motivated to go to rehab! Maybe it’s denial, grit, functionality, I’m not a quitter attitude! 🤦🏾♂️🤷🏾♂️😳😭
Icy_Reply_4163@reddit
The highest rate of admitted or acknowledged alcoholism
EvenSpoonier@reddit
So you're telling me they tried to make X go to rehab and they said no, no, no?
old_motters@reddit
That reference isn't wasted on me.
Very nice.
And GenX was more into their drugs than booze.
stalking_me_softly@reddit
No rehab just got bored with it one day and that was it
Weakest_Teakest@reddit
Rehab is for quitters! I ain't never quit nothin'!
Long_Bit8328@reddit
Rehab is for quitters!
- Gen X
blur410@reddit
This is the perfect example of Gen X humor.
But I also know that gen x, in general, would help those in need.
Infinite-Lychee-182@reddit
I was prescribed opioids for decades. I just quit them on my own. It sucked, but with weed and Advil, it wasn't that bad. Nothing close to needing to go to a hospital anyway.
Coho444@reddit
Nice. I was as well and am almost done. I’m 1/4 of what I was on now. It sucks but it’s time. Fuk those people at Perdue pharma. I forgot the name of that family.
AZJHawk@reddit
Sackler
Coho444@reddit
That’s them. POS family
Infinite-Lychee-182@reddit
Actually, now that i think about it, I was on a shit-ton of pain meds last year. I was a good boy. I never went home with them. I only had them when hospitalized, in recovery from surgery type rehab, and recovering at family. Still, I was in the hospital 30 days, rehab for 10 days, and a week of pain meds recovering with family. Yeah, I certainly had a lot going on last year, lol. Other than that occasionally for dental work.
I'm on a lot of meds now that prohibits every OTC pain thing so unfortunately my weed intake increased, but I'm still under a gram a day. Thankfully there's dry herb vaporizers so I can microdose.
Pinknailzz69@reddit
People of that generation with serious addictions that they didn’t recover from are dead. No need for rehab after death.
aspiegrrrl@reddit
Been there, done that in the 1990s.
steeltoedgeek@reddit
Same.
Madame-ovary1713@reddit
Maybe they all went in the 90s. Like I did!
bottlesnthrottles@reddit
Already did my rehab stints in the aughts. In long term recovery now.
marge7777@reddit
Born in 70s. Sober 12 years. No rehab, just a decision.
GoinMinoan@reddit
In addition to all the other good points, we're a small generation to start with. So there's a low number of possible people as a general pool.
freisbill@reddit
GenX here- 3 times
SewerHarpies@reddit
We’re the “suck it up” generation. Lots of addiction, not a lot of admitting it or seeking help for it. We got really good at hiding our problems.
kat2211@reddit
It would not surprise me if there was a little more resistance when it comes to GenX and going to rehab - I think to a certain extent drinking and drug use were/are a part of our identity in a more substantial, dug-in way than is present in the younger generations.
EdgeOfThorns76@reddit
I've been sober for 15 years (born in '76). I didn't go to rehab though; just got sick and tired of being sick and tired.
My ex-husband (born in '68) is still in active addiction, though he claims otherwise.
After_Narwhal8582@reddit
If I had the money or resources I would be hooked on everything thankfully eating and not being caged by an addiction was a good choice for me … kinda now I jump from addiction to addiction and never stay long on one vice … genxernomics I suppose
Samegenxgirl@reddit
We got really good at hiding not only addictions but a lot of things
smappyfunball@reddit
I got sober in 1985 when I was 17, and stayed sober ever since.
I think most of us either already sobered up, or died.
The ones still in active alcoholism and such are maybe going to trickle in to rehab places but there aren’t going to be many. At our age you’ve usually made the hard choice, one way or another.
ItBeMe_For_Real@reddit
Respect! I was 18 in 1985 and my addiction was kicking into high gear!
I’m 13 years sober now and I know how useless regrets are. That said, if I had it to do over again…
Even so, the reality is, I’m sober today and have some amazing people in my life. While I wouldn’t choose to do it the same way again or wish it upon anyone else, it’s made me who I am today. And there’s a lot worse things I could be than that.
smappyfunball@reddit
You’re sober now and that’s what matters.
I’m kind of a weird… fluke?
I run across people like me once in a blue moon but it’s rare. I had a combination of factors that worked in my favor and made some good choices along the way but I won’t say it’s been a smooth ride.
I had a gastric bypass a few years ago cause the behaviors sometimes express themselves in different ways and what works to keep you clean doesn’t necessarily work for things you can’t just stop doing.
But man that desire to overdo things never goes away entirely.
But it beats not train wrecking everyone’s life around me or being dead. I never would have survived it I hadn’t stopped when I did.
ItBeMe_For_Real@reddit
Is it low rate of addiction or high rate of denial? :)
I think you’ve got too small of a sample size to draw any conclusions.
Assuming it’s not a public run & funded facility, in patient treatment is a luxury many, many people can not afford.
TorrEEG@reddit
We learned to Just Say No and that our brains are fried eggs. How could we possibly become addicted with all that training.
Affectionate_Pace823@reddit
I learned it from you!
Admirable-Sector-705@reddit
Been sober for four years, and that was because I couldn’t stand the hangover I had after one drink. Before that, I drank all the time, and a lot.
blacfd@reddit
70s kids have plenty of addictions, we just don’t go to rehab
Laszlo_Panaflex_80@reddit
We Gen Xers in general aren’t rehab people. We either cleaned up or died. Lot of us died.
micromacrodose@reddit
I hear that one; I have lost two Gen X friends in 5 years to literally drinking themselves to death. One was not a surprise, the other hid it so well that none of us knew.
elliotsilvestri@reddit
You haven't met my sisters then. One has been in rehab at least four times that I know of, and the other one is dead because she was drinking a bottle of tequila every night for 20 years.
HackedCylon@reddit
A lot of us 70xers have died from addiction. Speaking from experience, so no judgement here, but stupid is a young man's game.
taint_odour@reddit
Can't speak for everyone but I got sober almost 20 years ago
Honeybee71@reddit
I had a few friends that OD’d, and some got sober. Idk anyone that went to rehab
TeenYearsKillingMe@reddit
For what it's worth, I feel like the majority of people I interact with in my moderation management group are Gen X. A lot of them are struggling with active addiction.
We have some of the highest rates of addiction. I'm betting we are all over the place- plenty who never struggled with addiction, many who passed, many more still kicking and in various stages of addiction or sobriety.
typhona@reddit
Those of us that were rehab folks were in our teens. And as has been said those of us that would have been rehab folks now are either dead or sobered up
supershinythings@reddit
It’s a smaller cohort than boomers and millennials. IMHO that’s why you’ll see fewer of them in general. It’s between the boomer population bump and the millennial double-bump kids of boomers.
My parents were silent-gen. They were born before the end of WWII - 1940 and 1943, specifically. Dad’s oldest kids are boomers, while everyone after was GenX or so. My full brother is “Generation Jones”, a very late boomer.
SomethingClever70@reddit
We really aren't all that much smaller, though. Check this out: generation numbers. Sorry, I should have labeled this "percentages." GenX is smaller, but by only 1.6 percent. We are only 0.4 percent smaller than the Baby Boomers.
u35828@reddit
I've been to ouchy rehab several times, but never to sniffy rehab.
Ohio_gal@reddit
They are mostly dead or recovered. There’s a reason You don’t see a bunch of old addicts.
Ikesmom418@reddit
We’re not quitters
TreaclePerfect4328@reddit
I adapted...
Coho444@reddit
Exactly
Beerinspector@reddit
We just walked it off.
catgirl320@reddit
Rubbing dirt on it does wonders for cirrhosis of the liver.
mybeautifulplanet@reddit
I got sober in 1989 at the age of 22 going on 23. I fell in the street while still drunk on a morning jog, broke my jaw and was wired shut. I was in grad school.
I was “encouraged” to go to AA by a friend and was desperate enough to try. My life was imploding.
Many of my friends died or were disabled due to substance use. We Gen X folks were taught to solve our own problems. I knew it was get sober or die. No one was going to save me. I had to change and do the work. Went on to have a career in healthcare and education. Everything i have i earned. There is only a free ride for 1%.
RaccoonHaunting9638@reddit
👍 💯
RaccoonHaunting9638@reddit
I was losing friends so young it became the norm. Many drunk driving, a few suicides, and the rest partied their way into early graves. My first 2 boyfriends are dead. I remember when some of them started freebasing, that stuff scared the shit out of me, and thank god! Stopped doing everything pretty young, 24 , I just saw too much, experienced enough and needed to get my shit together!
IcyCryptographer5919@reddit
They’re either dead or close to it.
Smart_Butterfly_7845@reddit
Born 1973, sobered up in 2020
JudgeJuryEx78@reddit
Because they're dead.
Seriously, in my home town I have lost count of how many people have died from overdose or alcohol related conditions.
They didn't die young and leave a pretty corpse- they lived for 2-3 more decades and died after they had spouses and kids, and likely pissed off a lot of people on the way. It's really sad. I hope the younger crowd is taking their treatment more seriously.
ElleGeeAitch@reddit
Ah, damn 😕.
Melekai_17@reddit
Well, here’s some info. Boomers smoke a lot of weed; young adults age 18-25 have the highest rates of drug abuse. GenX has one of the lowest.
Drug Abuse Across Generations
mushpanic@reddit
Someone told Gen X to “Just say no”. And we didn’t.
Melekai_17@reddit
🤔 Apparently a lot of us did, given that our generation has one of the LOWEST rates of substance abuse.
dreaminginteal@reddit
Nah, that PR didn't do shit.
I'm pretty sure it's "Survivor Bias". The people who got addicted were a lot more likely to die...
mizuaqua@reddit
We're just stubborn, and no one around us knows how to do intervention. They just leave. Or maybe we already worked through addiction in our 20's or 30's.
Patient-Cap-4004@reddit
No. Born in 1971, I've been around addiction and alcoholism all if my life and have observed our generation either succumbs to their addiction or sobers up and stays that way.
Do keep in mind that there are much fewer of us, meaming that collectively, we are statistical anomalies when our numbers are compared to other generations.
GenericStandard42@reddit
It's also a single data point for a single facility.
StereotypicallBarbie@reddit
I’m 47 born in 78 and a fair few people I went to school with died of overdoses now.. it’s really sad.
One was found under an underpass.. it was Christmas Day.. she was 43! And I still think of her.
I definitely have my vices but hard drugs (other than weed now and again) have never one of them.
MrRetrdO@reddit
Do you think we'd D.A.R.E. face the wrath of Nancy Reagan??
PeriwinkleWonder@reddit
It's because WE CAN REHABILITATE OURSELVES!! WE DON'T NEED HELP!!!
ConfidentRecover3343@reddit
Schnapps was for when you didn't want the real stuff.
Aggravating_Piece232@reddit
Maybe it's just that we were so parentified or expected to be incredibly independent that we just don't bother to take care of ourselves like we take care of other people? Anecdotally, my parents drank so much it was made routine alcohol consumption pretty unappealing. Mimosas for breakfast, bloody Marys and chardonnay with lunch, cocktails for appetizers, then wine with dinner - being in a steady state of buzzed was pretty common when I was young, at least during holidays and special occasions.
PeterPunksNip@reddit
I got an image of a Dallas episode 😝. Do you remember how people seemed to be fueled by whiskey on the rocks in the middle of the afternoon ? Used to be a cultural laughing matter here in Europe.
QueenMumof4@reddit
We just rub dirt on it
frozen_charlotte@reddit
I actually worked in a rehab and the majority of clients were either the generation before GenX or the generation after. But the majority of employees were recovering addicts with long clean time (including myself). I’m 36 years clean this year. I quit cold turkey…no rehab, no 12 steps, no therapy, just pure GenX spite lol.
Ok-Finger-1811@reddit
I think there are just fewer of us compared to boomers, millennials and Gen Z.
knedic92@reddit
Just got out and about half the clients were my age/genX for alcohol some + abusing Rx meds
ImaSource@reddit
Speaking for myself, I still enjoy drinking and edibles. That being said, I don't need them. I might go 2 or 3 months without anything, then decide I want to go out or do something at home. Then not partake again for awhile. '73 here.
Got_Bent@reddit
Today is the first flower Ive smoked in 2 weeks. I dont have butter or oil left because its not that important. Ive slowed down again since I quit years ago for the work and Navy. So really the last 24 years
Bulky-Hamster7373@reddit
Sober for years how - no rehab, no 12 step programs. Meditation was what helped me.
External_Midnight106@reddit
12 years clean and sober, 78’
Got_Bent@reddit
I had only one friend who did heroin, and he died. The rest of my peer group, maybe some still drink, most of us smoke pot, no cigarettes, and 50/50 on alcohol consumption. I gave up drinking years ago. I see most of them and get clued in on what the rest are doing.
JE5573R@reddit
Gen X has its fair share of addicts. They keep trying to put me into rehab but I refuse to go! In fact, just yesterday I knocked back a bed. Fuck that. I'd rather die than be put into that situation for 6 months. No thanks!
yarnhooksbooks@reddit
I only ever drank. Was well on its way to becoming a problem but one day I decided it made me feel like shit and stopped. I’ll have a few a couple times a year and usually end up regretting it. I’ve only ever known 2 people who went to rehab. One was sent by her parents when we were still teenagers and one was heavily addicted to meth. Everyone else either still uses and manages to function or just decided they didn’t want to anymore and quit.
gatoenvestido@reddit
I can’t speak for the generation as a whole but I was a functioning alcoholic for decades, until I wasn’t. Realized I had a major problem during the pandemic. I was also in a bad marriage with a fellow alcoholic so…three stints in rehab and a divorce later and sobriety finally stuck. A little over two years (with two brief relapses in there). I was very physically dependent and it would have been dangerous, and potentially fatal, to try to go it alone. I needed medical supervision.
But anecdotally, I’d say it was about 20% Gen X in there.
To other Gen X struggling with alcohol, there’s no shame in asking for help. You aren’t alone.
Ordinary_Story_1487@reddit
I went to rehab. Best choice I ever made. 6 years sober and life is so much better. I don't regret partying when I was younger, but wish I quit in my early 30's instead of 40's. I had a ton of fun and did a lot of great stuff in my teens and 20's. It didn't control my life till my late 30's.
Ok_Still_3571@reddit
We learned early that we were our own safety net.
TreaclePerfect4328@reddit
I got clean 5 years ago. No rehab tho.
Hefty_Debt_638@reddit
Same!!!! Maybe that’s more our speed. We don’t need no freakin rehab!😂😂
TreaclePerfect4328@reddit
Nope. I got a job i didn't want i walked because I crashed my car ODing. I puked shit pants and basically wanted to die for few weeks hated that job and got fired. Took a new one saved up now I'm over 6 figures drive a Lexus have beautiful house. Never looking back.
Hefty_Debt_638@reddit
Exactly. Awesome job, friend❤️
agoodspace@reddit
Our parents left us alone. So more social ties.
We did it as a friendship group then it changed as we got a job.
Scared Straight movie when we were teens
We leaned on sex and rock and roll. It was enough.
Agree, the druggies prob passed already.
BurningJointUSA@reddit
We handle our shit
notade50@reddit
If they haven’t turned it around, and they’re still a using addict by the time they’re in their mid 40’s to 50’s, they’re probably already dead or in jail.
304libco@reddit
Gen X has high functional alcoholism rates and less prescription and Street drug addiction rates. Most of the people I know who are actual drug addicts are boomers or millennials. I also think millennials are much more likely to seek treatment and we tend to just power through.
dirtjiggler@reddit
Ive done enough in my life to know. My sister didn't. Grew up around alcoholics and abusive, bullying dipshits who behaved that way mostly because of booze.
I've opted out.
mushyspider@reddit
Stopped being an idiot by 21 years old (cold turkey). My friends who didn’t are now dead.
temerairevm@reddit
Remember that there are just fewer of us to begin with.
Desperate_County_680@reddit
We're all dead.
Dusty_Sequins@reddit
A lot of folks do outpatient, too. Think about it, many of us born in the 70’s still have kids in school and/or parents who rely on us. You can’t really take months off for rehab when you have other responsibilities.
Old_Till2431@reddit
Powered thru alcoholism until I hit 55.
delightfuldillpickle@reddit
Naw. I got clean in 2006.
bookant@reddit
Cuz we said no, no, no.
ifitallfell2pieces@reddit
Just say No!
sysaphiswaits@reddit
We already got sober or decided not to.
Substantial_Layer_79@reddit
This is 100% accurate. I'm a late'60s Gen X'er.
gcfio@reddit
This is your brain. This is your brain on drugs. Any questions. — commercial must have worked
Iowa_Guy2@reddit
We are just good at being ignored and functioning that way.
painterlyjeans@reddit
We went to rehab and psych hospitals when we were young. In my part of CT there was a lot of addiction and kids went to a place called Elmcrest and it screwed them up worse.
LittleEdithBeale@reddit
Yep! My sister did time in that shithole.
painterlyjeans@reddit
I’m sorry
agirldonkey@reddit
Yeah, I went senior year and I was like the 5th person I knew that got sent. There were three major facilities and I had friends go to all of them
Witty-Reason-2102@reddit
I was pressured by my parents to go into a rehab clinic when I was 19 after I got busted with a dimebag of weed and a 6-pack of beer. This was about 1991ish. II paid $100 fine for the M.I.P of the beer, and 2 year suspended imposition of sentence for the weed (The misdemeanor weed charge wouldve otherwise been a year in jail if i violated the probation.) I went to AA/NA meetings for about 2 years, then I started partying again..
Kryceks-Revenge@reddit
I mean, have you read this sub? People post on here about, “LOL I DRINK SO HARD AND MY SLEEP APNEA WILL KILL ME AND WHATEVER… GARDEN HOSE…” Some are the last people who would see rehab as valid in any way.
Which is honestly tragic. Our generation still has so much to do.
Active_Unit_9498@reddit
There aren't that many 50+ addicts because they have self selected out of aging.
old_namewasnt_best@reddit
Exactly my personal experience. Congratulations to you.
William S. Burroughs said there were no old junkies. He was mostly right, himself being an exception who lived to 83 (on a daily methadone program).
inafishbowl17@reddit
We had less addictive drugs in our party years. Then we had to deal with our children getting decimated by pharmaceutical companies. Oxy was something a doctor gave out. It can't be bad right? We're now raising our grandchildren.
GIGGLES708@reddit
Big Cigarette would like a word
Sitting_pipe@reddit
Here is why, we are so fucking stubborn....last year i was running in my back yard, my German shephard cut me off at the knees i flew over him did a handstand into the fence, tore BOTH of my triceps muscles and i refused to go to the hospital, soreness black and blue arms for a year...now 2 years later still working out and did my own recovery along the way...then mountain biking i broke my left wrist...no worries, taped it up and moved on....rinse and repeat my whole life...broken ribs, collarbone...nope i'll heal...the only time i went to the hospital i was having real bad heart palpitations, turns out i tore my abdominal diagram a small amount deadlifting so when i take a deep breath it will happen, they wanted to do surgery so i asked what would happen if i didn't have surgery, they said they didn't know but it might get worse....i said ill be back if it gets worse, that was 10 years ago....still working out i just cant do deadlifts...
Gnarledhalo@reddit
Cuz the majority already died.
oopsymeohboy@reddit
Yeah that was exactly my internal response too.
MikelarlHaxton@reddit
Born 76 - saw what addiction did to my parents and their siblings and it was a big no thank you for me
Ok-Lingonberry-8261@reddit
About the same here. I don't use anything stronger than advil. The emergency room doc who diagnosed my broken foot was gobsmacked when I told him to shove the Vicodin prescription up his ass.
sauerkraut916@reddit
From the comments + my own life experience as a GenX punk these are the reasons:
1) Many of us GenXers were “partiers” but not addicts. The true addicts we knew died before they were 25 years old from ODs, car crashes, or getting beat to death in an alley.
2) Rehab was not a “thing” unless your family was very wealthy and could pay for it. If you were an abused kid on the street using drugs and got in trouble you went to jail, there was no treatment center option.
3) Survivor bias. “There are less people from this timeframe who seek treatment.”. Well, maybe that’s because those who needed treatment are dead now.
LinuxLinus@reddit
See many of our rock stars.
Entiox@reddit
That depended on where you lived. My family was far from wealthy (single mother household) and I ended up in rehab after getting busted with a dime bag in high school. It was a county run program and didn't cost all that much, a few hundred dollars. Of course I had to pay for it as part of my punishment.
deep-sea-savior@reddit
I was just talking with an old friend (we were born ‘71 and ‘72), he was telling me how many fellow Xers from our hometown are dropping like flies. It’s all the same story, severe drug and alcohol abuse that went on for 20-30 years. As for the rest of us, we either never abused substances or had enough clarity to quit before it was too late.
Suspicious-Price5810@reddit
Gen x has a high rate of addiction and a "it is what it is" attitude. They don't go to rehab.
ElJefe0218@reddit
Ain't no quitter!
RoyalPuzzleheaded259@reddit
I was born in ‘80 and am a recovered homeless crackhead. Smoked my self to the street in my early 20s and was fortunate enough to make it back and still be clean 25 years later.
Koumadin@reddit
👍🏽 right on. glad you were able to make it out
RoyalPuzzleheaded259@reddit
Me too.
Legal-Stranger-4890@reddit
born in 66. we were the kids crashing so many cars that it spurred the campaigns against drunk driving, raising the drinking age back to 21, and so on. lots of my peers did not make it to 21.
I knew lots of people going to rehab, but none after turning 25 because the rehab took or they died or just disappeared.
AZJHawk@reddit
Yeah - the people I knew with addiction issues either got clean or died/dropped off the radar by their mid-20s. There were enough of those to scare the rest of us into moderation and limit our substance use to just alcohol and weed.
CommissionFeisty9843@reddit
Humble_Diner32@reddit
I’m 49 and have survived a few su*cide attempts over the decades; I will tell you a personal experience pertaining to your question. I can’t afford rehab or any sort of institution. I can’t afford to quit my career and expect a state or a bunch of strangers to take care of me because of the life I lived. I’d love to have the wealthy luxury of dropping into a mental health facility or a rehab center for a few months to a year; I can’t. I’m not privileged enough or surrounded by loved ones to provide me such wonderful benefits. So I just mask it, suppress, self medicate it, live with it. Felons, small time crooks, politicians all have better resources than a working class guy like me who thinks about ending it all at least once a day.
GenX-ModTeam@reddit
{community rule 11}
Bk_Punisher@reddit
Survival of the fittest. The ones that are still around at not to be messed with. Gen X survivors have honey badgers beat. We don’t give a fuck!!
ssk7882@reddit
You know, before they called us "GenX," we were known as the "Baby Busters."
After the Baby Boom, the birth rates plummeted for a while before gradually rising to boom again with the Millennials. We are a small generation.
Common_Poetry3018@reddit
This is the correct answer.
Rude_Pangolin6136@reddit
This. 1975 was an incredibly low birth rate due to the birth control pill.
ancientastronaut2@reddit
I was totally an accident. My older siblings were younger boomers that were ten and twelve years older than me. By the time I was nine, they were out of the house and I was like an only child. My parents thought they were done and I certainly felt like I was in their way growing up.
thor_strong1@reddit
You can’t break what is already broken. /s
captain_ohagen@reddit
well, kinda /s
nadiaco@reddit
Older gen x. Just not really my personality. I tried lots of things but never got hooked. Tho friend died from ODs in Their 40s
LizardHunters@reddit
Born in '69, Child of an alchoholic. The things I saw while growing up caused me to never have more than 2 drinks in an evening. I would rather stay sober.
Upset_Peace_6739@reddit
I know a lot of people who should have gone but didn’t. Not all of them are still here.
painterlyjeans@reddit
I knew people who went and died so shrugs.
Flaky-Debate-833@reddit
This is the biggest section of the pie chart.
theheadofkhartoum627@reddit
Most Gen Xers I know went hard(myself included)and found a way to practice moderation when they got older.
Hot_Assistant_6067@reddit
I love mbv
theheadofkhartoum627@reddit
:)
ConfidentRecover3343@reddit
I remember when they started talking about binge drinking, I was like ? It's that just drinking? I had pretty much quit by the time I was old enough to drink.
YouMustBeJoking888@reddit
Pretty much this. Partied my face off when young, now go for drinks here and there with friends or have a glass of wine with dinner, but I'm much more focused on other pursuits and see partying as a side gig these days. I do have friends who still go pretty hard, but that's their choice, not mine, and they otherwise function well in life.
onion4everyoccasion@reddit
Gen X addicts are either dead or sober
hippiechick725@reddit
Some of us practice moderation, in all fairness.
onion4everyoccasion@reddit
If you regularly practice moderation then you are not likely an addict
Bob_Sacamano7379@reddit
Born in 1974. Six years clean and sober after rehab.
NorCalJason75@reddit
Gen X was the last generation of completely feral children.
The world has forced us to become strong, independent, resilient. Tough as nails
Hell no! It's just that we can accept ourselves not being perfect. Fuck it... we're all gonna die anyway.
I think the perfect Gen X mascot is Karen from Will & Grace; whitty, smart, self-aware.... and a little drunk on a DELICIOUS Martini (or three).
Limp_Ice_3248@reddit
If we discount her being a Boomer then I concur.
NorCalJason75@reddit
I'm adopting her...
KrofftSurvivor@reddit
Gen Xers are late 40's to very early 60's.
They've either already had rehab or are never going to.
Zosopagedadgad@reddit
I'm 56, I grew up with my brother, 2 cousins that lived close, and my best friend. Through the 70s and 80s. I was the only one of the 5 to rein the partying in.
They are all dead now. All from alcohol and drugs in one way or another. So, there's that.. Maybe the ones who made it through don't need rehab.
judgeejudger@reddit
Born in ‘72. Got it all out of my system in my 20s, although I have pivoted back to embrace weed, so that I get decent sleep
SirIll1219@reddit
I'm not rehab, but I've been seeing a therapist for about a year. I think it's doing me some good. I've cut way down on my drinking, and I'm communicating better with my wife. She's also seeing a therapist.
howie2092@reddit
Born in 69 went to rehab for alcohol in early 2022. There were a few other GenX but mostly kids in their 20's and early 30's. Not my finest moment, but I'm still sober.
slade797@reddit
I’m a mental health therapist in a men’s rehab. Out patients are 30 percent GenX.
thewormthatneverdies@reddit (OP)
I'm suppose plenty go through detox at the hospital and don't go on to rehab. I did twice. I'm not actively tracking numbers but I've been paying attention for about a year. I'm here asking because it seems very strange.
yeahwellokay@reddit
I went to detox/rehab 18 years ago or so. I recommend it for anyone with addiction issues. I'd probably be dead if I hadn't.
MarchOk5420@reddit
Same here.
JohnGault67@reddit
Well, if it was 20 years ago.. I'd be there. I've been clean since 38 years old.
Sallydog24@reddit
we are not quitters that's why
swigs77@reddit
They've Od'd or got their shit together finally
hells_cowbells@reddit
Rehab is for quitters!
itwillmakesenselater@reddit
Rehab's easy. I've done it loads of times.
slade797@reddit
Then you didn’t do it properly.
marigolds6@reddit
Read the headline and assumed you were talking about injury rehab/physical therapy and thought, "They aren't? How?"
AZPeakBagger@reddit
There are at least 20% less of us than there are of Boomers and Millennials. From purely my anecdotal experience, the Grunge era took out the first batch of friends who were OG GenX'rs. Many of the ones who survived that era ended up dying of heart attacks and lifestyle issues in their early 50's even though they may have given up drugs and alcohol a decade or two earlier.
I've done a lot of various endurance sports since the 80's and a fair number of addicts got into running or cycling. So many ex-addicts in endurance sports that they make memes about it.
MinusGovernment@reddit
Robin Williams had a little bit in one of his stand-ups in the 80's talking about alcohol and drugs and he said that running a marathon had the same effect and was much cheaper than cocaine.
Live At the Met. I still listen to it occasionally and lmao. It's a bit dated with the political humor of the time but still a good listen.
ConfidentRecover3343@reddit
The addicts in that age range are dead or no longer trying to get help. My aunt was born in the late 60's, she & everyone else just accept that is part of who she is & she isn't going to stop.
slade797@reddit
Not true. About 30 percent of my clients are GenX.
ToddPundley@reddit
Someone I love who was born in 1976 right now is in rehab (a partial Hospitalization program).
That said for the basic demographic trends others mentioned (there’s less of us than Boomers, Millennials, etc.), she says there are just a handful our age and a lot that are in their 20s.
Farmgirlmommy@reddit
Our parents put us in Paris Hilton style torture rehab as teens. Most of us were not addicts, just unsupervised kids with access to substances our parents had laying around. We are adults now and don’t think we are invincible anymore (pulled a muscle rolling over today kind of old) and we like to be alone and get a full night of sleep. We used up our woohoos early. Now we’re tired and responsible adults.
DPax_23@reddit
Smaller generation of an age where the people who didn't already successfully deal with this died already. You're bound to see smaller numbers for those reasons.
CDubs_94@reddit
Idk....I knew a lot of dudes with issues. Me included....I never went to rehab but did see an addiction specialist and was successful with the medication and outpatient program.
disastrous_affect163@reddit
Born in 69 and never been to rehab. But in all honesty, if I had not joined the military, the out come could have easily been way different.🤷♂️
I have always said, there are two decisions in my life that were 100% correct.🫡 Joining the military, and getting a vasectomy after my son was born.👍 Those two are correct beyond any doubt, everything else is open to debate.😂
OkConcept5152@reddit
Born in ‘71 suffering with addiction in later life. I haven’t been to rehab but that doesn’t mean I don’t need it.
InsertRadnamehere@reddit
We went in our teens and 20s. Or died.
hkusp45css@reddit
Born in 76, been to rehab 4 times in my life.
I am NOT good at functioning with addiction, clearly.
thewormthatneverdies@reddit (OP)
I'm a 76er as well. I only went once, though. I had very supportive friends and family when I got out. I think that's the secret to my success.
GenericStandard42@reddit
Hahahaha. Addiction is alive and well in GenX. I know many GenX people in recovery who went to rehab, and I did as well. Twice.
thewormthatneverdies@reddit (OP)
Yeah, me too. That's why it's weird to me. I would have been at this facility had it existed 11 years ago.
Ceorl_Lounge@reddit
Numbers and threading a needle on addition timing. It's a smaller generation firstly. Also people were taken out by ODs when younger and we aren't QUITE old enough for all the chronic addiction problems to catch up with us.
SnowflakeSWorker@reddit
I know a lot more of my oldest son’s peers who went to rehab (he’s 31) than my own. Maybe insurance didn’t cover it when we were late teens/early 20s?
Mental health parity has only been around the last 15 years or so (it happened during my career, I remember when it was not covered), so that would be my guess.
Many of us also just tried to figure it out ourselves, and did- or died- or are still in active addiction.
TransatlanticMadame@reddit
Lower alcohol consumption, greater pharmacological consumption? Not sure. More diagnosis of mental health conditions and treatment?