Eating and substance-use disorders are severe mental conditions with severe psychological and physical health impacts on individuals. Eating disorders are fatal conditions associated with dysfunctional thoughts, behaviors, and emotions involving food, including bulimia nervosa, anorexia nervosa, and binge eating disorder.
What Is An Eating Disorder?
An eating disorder is characterized by persistent disturbed patterns of thoughts, eating behaviors, and feelings associated with weight and food issues. Eating disorders are severe conditions with significant harmful health effects.
Below are risk factors that make a person develop an eating disorder.
- Age: Such conditions develop mainly during early childhood and adolescence stages.
- Trauma: Sexual or physical abuse may factor into an eating disorder.
- Gender: Females are more likely to develop eating disorders, although such conditions are less likely to be noticed in males.
- Drastic changes: Stressful changes in a person’s life, including divorce, can be a trigger.
- Environmental factors: Some cultures value thinness and may push individuals to set unrealistic goals. Specific careers or sports that focus on physique or weight, like gymnastics, dancing, wrestling, or modeling, may contribute to eating disorders.
- Genetic factors: Biological predisposition may lead to disordered eating patterns. An individual has a high chance of developing eating disorders if closer relatives have one.
Types Of Eating Disorders
There are several types of eating disorders suffered by people. Each has different eating patterns and behaviors, but all are dangerous and fatal.
Anorexia Nervosa
Anorexia nervosa is the most common eating disorder. Like other eating disorders, it develops during childhood and adolescence and affects more women than men. Affected individuals have body dysmorphia and see themselves as overweight.
Individuals with this condition minimize calories intake to dangerous levels and generally avoid consuming certain foods. However, there are individuals who suffer from purging and binge-eating. The disorder damages the body and makes individuals susceptible to loss of bone mass, infertility, and even organ failure, leading to death.
Bulimia Nervosa
The condition affects more women than men, especially during childhood and adolescence—individuals who have Bulimia eat excessive quantities of food for a short duration. People usually cannot control how much they eat as food. Binge-eating, in this case, constitutes eating unhealthy meals that a person can avoid. After binge eating, people with this condition will try purging or vomiting to compensate for their consumed calories and relieve stomach discomfort. Bulimia, in some cases, leads to electrolyte imbalance in the body which may result in a heart attack.
Binge-eating disorder
The condition develops during the early adult and teen years. Individuals with this condition do not restrict their calorie intake, engage in excessive exercise, or purge their food. People with binge-eating disorders develop obesity, stroke, heart disease, and type two diabetes, which is fatal.
Treating Eating Disorders And Substance Abuse Concurrently
Substance use and problematic eating behavior serve as coping mechanisms in some instances. It is essential to treat both conditions simultaneously to prevent symptoms of one disorder from affecting the treatment outcome of the other.
Continuum Of Care For Dual Diagnosis
There is a continuum of care provided by Ocean Recovery center for people with substance-use disorders that enables people to obtain treatment at our recovery center. Some options include:
- Detox: A professional detoxification program assists people in withdrawing from substance abuse under medical care. Supportive care and medication are provided to manage health issues and ease symptoms arising from the eating disorder, substance use, or withdrawal, depending on the severity.
- Inpatient: Residential facilities enable a person to stay while they recover, and treatment is usually provided in group and individual sessions.
- Outpatient: Outpatient programs provide therapeutic options while patients live in their homes. Such care is provided on a less time-intensive basis and facilitates patients in adjusting to recovery.
- Aftercare: It entails ongoing recovery efforts, including medical follow-ups, nutritionist sessions, and private therapy sessions. It may involve self-help groups, including Alcoholics Anonymous, Overeaters Anonymous, and Narcotics Anonymous.
Successful treatment means maintaining a healthy weight and not engaging in certain behaviors. Recovery from substance use and eating disorders is an ongoing process, but recovery is possible for those willing to follow up.
