Connection Between Addiction, Disordered Eating
Experts say that almost half of all people with an eating disorder abuse drugs or alcohol. Some even suggest there is evidence that eating disorders are a type of addiction, a behavioral addiction. Similarities in what happens in the brains of people with eating disorders and with drug addictions support this idea. Like a drug addict, someone with an eating disorder gets more and more out of control with the behavior. She can no longer stop the bad behavior, in spite of the negative consequences, just like an addict.Eating Disorders as Substitute Addiction
When a drug or alcohol addict goes to rehab and gets treatment, she is given a new lease on life. She isn’t cured of her addiction, though. The recovering addict still has a lot of work to do to avoid sliding back and relapsing. Recovering addicts are encouraged to keep busy and to find new activities to help distract them from urge to use again. In some cases, these alternative activities can become obsessive and transition into substitute addictions. When an addict in recovery starts to obsess over food, weight or exercise, she may be at risk for developing an eating disorder as a substitute addiction. If you care about someone in recovery and you are worried that she may be heading down this path, intervention is important. But how do you know? Here are some important signs of eating disorders:- Obsessing over weight and eating.
- Irrational fear of gaining weight.
- A self-image that is distorted and that impacts self-esteem.
- Not eating enough.
- Losing too much weight.
- Bingeing on food and feeling shamed or guilty later.
- Purging after a binge by vomiting, using a laxative, fasting or exercising.
