Key Takeaways
- Integrated treatment is essential for achieving successful recovery from an eating disorder and addiction, as it provides the comprehensive support needed to overcome these challenges.
- Different eating disorders (such as anorexia, bulimia, ARFID, and binge eating disorder) require distinct diagnostic criteria and tailored treatment plans.
- Co-occurring disorders must be treated together because each condition reinforces the other, making recovery difficult when addressed separately.
- Dual diagnosis programs integrate mental health and addiction treatment, offering coordinated care from specialized teams, detox support, and flexible program formats.
- Comprehensive treatment that includes medical, psychological, and behavioral interventions supports long-term recovery and helps rebuild healthy relationships with food and substances.
Eating disorders are incredibly complex and look very different depending on the individual. This becomes that much more challenging when you are struggling with an eating disorder in combination with addiction.
Although still a mystery to many people, co-occurring disorders are quite common and often end up enabling each other.
In this article, we will be discussing how you can find treatment for eating disorders as well as addiction. We will also explore why these two disorders often overlap and how this changes the recovery process.
The Different Forms of Eating Disorders
Before we discuss the common thread between eating disorders and addiction, we need to discuss the different types of eating disorders. That’s because, if you haven’t gotten a clinical diagnosis just yet, you may not know what type of disorder you have.
There are several different forms of eating disorders that have different symptoms and will require different recovery resources. Each eating disorder is defined by specific diagnostic criteria, which clinicians use to make an accurate diagnosis and differentiate between disorders.
Here are the most common types of eating disorders that are clinically recognized:
Anorexia
Anorexia nervosa is characterized by significant food restriction and an intense desire to lose weight. Individuals with anorexia often suffer from adverse consequences: they may become significantly underweight as a result of their restrictive behaviors.
Avoidant Restrictive Food Intake Disorder
ARFID is a disorder that presents itself as an obsession with certain types of food, causing the individual to fixate, restrict, and avoid these foods.
Binge Eating Disorder
BED is characterized by recurrent episodes of eating excessively large quantities of food in a short period. These binge episodes often involve addictive behaviors, such as diminished control and continued eating despite negative consequences, similar to those seen in substance use disorders.
Keep in mind binge eating disorder is one of the most common worldwide. This means it’s much more likely to co-occur with substance dependence.
Bulimia
Another common eating disorder is bulimia, which involves recurrent episodes of binge eating followed by compensatory behaviors such as purging behaviors (vomiting, excessive exercise, or fasting). Individuals with bulimia are often of normal weight, which can make the disorder harder to detect.
How Addiction and Eating Disorders Can Overlap
Believe it or not, it isn’t that uncommon for addiction and eating disorders to overlap. When this happens, these are called co-occurring disorders, which is a term to describe when a substance abuse disorder and a mental health disorder occur at the same time. In many cases, one of these disorders came first and led to the second one developing.
Something to keep in mind is that addiction is truly a disorder, not just a behavioral problem. Addiction has a significant impact on how the brain functions, which is why it is so difficult to recover on your own without professional help. Disordered eating behaviors, such as bingeing and purging, can closely resemble drug use in addiction, as both can become compulsive and difficult to control.
Depending on your individual situation, you may have originally developed an eating disorder, which led to an addiction. This is quite common as people may try to treat their mental health disorder by self-medicating with substances. However, either disorder can occur first and cause the other, or in more rare instances, they may have developed separately.
Addiction vs Eating Disorders: Understanding the Similarities
The thing that makes addiction and eating disorders unique is that addiction is often focused on substances, such as drugs, pills, or alcohol. And eating disorders are focused on food (like sugar addiction, for example). So, it makes sense that these disorders could end up overlapping since they share the similarity of consuming foods or substances.
Here are some additional things that make addiction and eating disorders similar, which can increase the likelihood of creating a co-occurrence:
- Compulsive and obsessive behaviors
- Escapism
- Shame and guilt
- Emotional and social isolation
- Difficult withdrawal
- Negative impact on relationships
- Difficulty maintaining responsibilities
Why You Have to Treat Co-Occurring Disorders Together
Although separate programs are available for addiction and eating disorders, you need to treat co-occurring disorders together. In the majority of cases, these disorders directly impact one another and fuel the fire. Because of this, you need to be able to address both disorders during treatment for the best chance of long-term recovery.
That is why dual diagnosis treatment programs were created. Dual diagnosis treatment focuses specifically on treating co-occurring disorders by addressing the unique relationship they have to each other. This means that your treatment will usually involve mental health and addiction professionals as well as a variety of therapies. Co-occurring eating disorders and addiction are both classified as mental disorders, which means they require specialized care tailored to address the complexities of both conditions.
If you were to join a standard program for either eating disorders or addiction, you may improve in one area but not the other. This would usually result in all of your hard work being undone, as only half of the problem was addressed.
How to Find the Right Dual Diagnosis Treatment Program
If you are ready to get help for your co-occurring disorders, you will need to know how to find the right dual diagnosis treatment program. Many treatment facilities now have these programs available, which is beneficial, but this can also make it difficult to know which program to join.
Effective treatment programs help individuals develop a healthy relationship with food and substances.
Here are some of the main things to look for in a high-quality dual diagnosis treatment program.
Supporting mental well-being is also a key component of dual diagnosis treatment.
Comprehensive Approach
One of the most important things you need to look for in a treatment program for co-occurring disorders is a comprehensive approach. A comprehensive approach takes the entire individual into account when creating a personalized recovery plan.
Recovery is not a straight road, and it will look different for every person, which is why this approach is so crucial for recovery success.
Here’s what we offer at The Lakes Treatment Center:
Mental Health and Addiction Care Team
Eating disorders and addiction require two different approaches when it comes to finding the root cause, addressing the symptoms, and reducing triggers. That is why a dual diagnosis treatment program should be equipped with a professional mental health and addiction care team.
Detox Resources
Depending on your addiction, you may need to detox while in recovery. Detoxing can be a dangerous process and is often very uncomfortable to go through. If this is something you require, you need to choose a program that has detox resources, such as medically-supervised detox or medication-assisted treatment.
Detox resources are especially important for individuals recovering from addiction to illicit drugs, as these substances often require specialized medical support during withdrawal.
Flexible Program Options
You may have specific needs when it comes to finding treatment for your eating disorder and substance abuse disorder. So, you may want to look at additional options the program provides, such as long-term or short-term treatment, or inpatient or outpatient treatment.
Get Eating Disorder Treatment Today at The Lakes Treatment Center
Even if you are battling an eating disorder and a substance abuse disorder, there is still light at the end of the tunnel. Recovery is possible; however, it will look a little different than just joining a standard recovery program.
At The Lakes Treatment Center, we have created a dual diagnosis treatment program specifically designed to address the complex relationship between co-occurring disorders. Our program takes a comprehensive approach, treating both disorders at one time so that you can take back control of your life. We consider important factors such as family history when developing personalized treatment plans to ensure the best possible outcomes.
Are you ready to join a dual diagnosis treatment program for your co-occurring disorders? Contact our team today at The Lakes Treatment Center to learn more about the recovery resources we provide.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Do eating disorders and addiction affect the mind?
The effects of eating disorders and addiction can culminate in behavioral and neurochemical effects. This is referred to as biological psychiatry: how mental disorders affect the biological function of your nervous system.
Q: How many people get eating disorders and addiction?
Approximately 9% of the general population, or 30 million people, have an eating disorder. This greatly increases their addictive potential. Case in point: the National Center for Addiction Studies and Treatment finds that 50% of these people will experience substance abuse disorders and engage in addictive behaviors.
Q: What raises your risks of getting an eating disorder?
Shared risk factors, such as genetics and trauma, can increase the likelihood of developing both eating disorders and addiction. Other mental health conditions may add more risk factors. For example, conditions like OCD and depression may add compulsive behaviors.
Q: What are the types of eating disorders?
Common types include:
- Anorexia nervosa, or anorexia
- Bulimia nervosa, or binge eating disorder
- Food addiction, or compulsive food intake
Keep in mind these common eating disorders (including anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and binge eating disorder) often co-occur with addiction. Since treatment and recovery are much more complicated, you will likely need to enroll in a dual diagnosis center.
Q: What makes eating disorders worse?
Body image issues and the intense fear of gaining weight are common challenges for individuals with eating disorders. Fluctuations in body weight, significant weight loss, or weight gain can all contribute to psychological distress and reinforce disordered eating patterns. Addressing these concerns with self-compassion and evidence-based therapies, such as cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), is essential for building a healthier relationship with food and body image.
Q: How do people with eating disorders and addiction overcome stigma and shame?
Too often, conditions like anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and binge eating disorder are misunderstood or minimized, leading to feelings of isolation, guilt, and low self-esteem. This stigma can make it difficult for individuals to reach out for help, share their struggles with family members, or even acknowledge the severity of their own mental health issues.
Reaching out to support groups and dual diagnosis treatment centers can assist with the successful treatment of eating disorders and drug dependence. This includes The Lakes Treatment Center: a treatment center known for addressing both substance abuse and mental health conditions.
