If you read this blog on a regular basis, thank you. I hope you’re enjoying it and getting something out of it. If you’re such a reader, you know how often I talk about my love of food. I know I’m not alone. Food is a big topic for me. For other people, it’s a big topic as well. They might have a complicated relationship with food.

In fact, did you know that eating disorders and substance use disorder often go hand-in-hand? The National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA) estimates that almost 50% of people who have an eating disorder also struggle with alcohol or drug abuse. NEDA says this figure is five times higher than other people who have substance use disorder issues.

During eating disorders, people may not eat enough, or they might eat too much in a binge and make themselves vomit (purge). People with such conditions have distorted views of their bodies and thinking that they are fat. In reality, they are dangerously thin and putting their health in extreme danger.

Substance use disorder just complicates these mindsets. Drinking too much alcohol, or abusing other drugs, such as diet pills, also affect the brain and the body. Substance use disorderrs often think that they are in control of their bodies and their lives, although the opposite is often true. If alcohol and drug users realize that they have problems, this substance use disorder often damages their self-esteem.

So, if people have an eating disorder and a substance use disorder problem, they are not eating enough. At the same time, they are drinking and using drugs, and we all know that using such substances on an empty stomach just intensifies their effects. They could also be using other substances, such as diet pills, as part of their weight-loss strategy. Eating and substance use disorder disorders could contribute to low self-esteem, depression, and anxiety.

That’s where dual diagnosis treatment can help. Such treatment recognizes that substance use disorder and eating disorders are both mental and physical. It treats both conditions so that one doesn’t influence the other. While such treatment may not be easy, neither are substance use disorder or eating disorders.