13. Food addiction can impair chemical dependency recovery

By Tom O'Connell

In earlier times, when life seemed more simple, it was believed that when a person kicked a habit, that was all there was to it. "I'm healthy now, right?" Wrong. People who work with addicts now realize that when a primary addiction is dealt with, the urge to fill the emptiness is likely to result in a substitute addiction.

In its recent newsletter, Hazelden Voice, the highly respected Minnesota treatment center featured a story about how eating disorders can block recovery from chemical dependency. And the emphasis was on women.

At Hazelden, about 30 to 40 percent of the women treated for alcohol and other drug dependency have an active eating disorder or one in remission.  Among men in recovery, the eating disorder problem seems to affect only 5 percent.

"The common denominator for all eating disorders involves obsessive features," reports the Hazelden Foundation. These include "preoccupation with food, body shape and weight." To complicate matters, many people with eating disorders have experienced physical, emotional and sexual abuse in their past.

Psychologist Sue Hoisington of Hazelden's mental health clinic, has done extensive research to find out at what point patients became preoccupied with their weight, and at what stage or age the eating disorder began. She reports, "Often, it was when their eating disorder really began to blossom that their chemical use started. They may have started drinking or abusing chemicals because it reduced their appetite."

It has been known for a long time that women often smoke to speed up their metabolism and control their weight. Apparently, other chemicals are used like this too, and to deal with unpleasant feelings. Discussing the link between chemical dependency and eating disorders, Hazelden states, "Both are addictions that make a person's life unmanageable. And it's common for people to switch back and forth between addictions."

Underlying eating disorders, as with chemical dependency, there are issues deeper than the excessive behavior itself. Some of these are "distorted body image, low self-esteem, fear of intimacy and not fitting in, inability to express feelings, perfectionism, anxiety, and poor spirituality."

To deal with these issues is a serious challenge. That's why those familiar with the addictions call recovery a journey, not an event. It's a lifelong process that requires constant vigilance. According to Hazelden, "Some clinicians say it's harder to manage an eating disorder than it is to stay sober."

A person can abstain from alcohol, but we have to eat. So the goal isn't total abstinence, it's healthy choices. That's why it's important to use therapy, in the form of psychotherapists and group support. A knowledgeable therapist can serve as a guide while a person is pursuing a Twelve Step approach such as Overeaters Anonymous.

The hazardous fact about substitute addictions is that they serve as triggers for relapse into what once may have been the primary addiction. Addictions, left untreated, lead to physical illness, mental impairment, emotional problems, social maladjustment, and spiritual difficulties. They require attention.

The purpose of recovery is not to experiment with new addictions, it's to get healthy. Vigilance about new addictions, or the return of old ones, is vital to recovery.

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