The Link Between Eating Disorders and Substance Abuse
Do you think it is fair to say that the majority of people with eating disorders also have an addiction to substance abuse? Do you believe that once you have an addiction that you cure those addictions with future addictions? What do you believe are the biggest factors that lead to an eating disorder? Are addictions linked to your personality?
What is your opinion about a woman struggling with an addiction to an eating disorder for over ten years and being able to recover with only 3 months of treatment? Do you think that women are more affected by this than men?
Why do 35% of substance abusers have eating disorders, when 1/2 of individuals with eating disorders abuse drugs? Why do you think this is?
I think it's fair to say people with an eating disorder have a substance abuse addiction also. I think once you have an addiction you find ways to get the same feeling from another addiction. I think being overweight just a bit leads to an eating disorder, or being not the best at something. Yes addictions are linked to personalities. Some people just can't get an addiction to something. If a woman has struggled with an eating disorder for 10 years and in 3 months recovers from that, I'd say that woman must of had a small disorder because some people have trouble for years beating an addiction. Yes women are more affect by eating disorders than men. Women want to be the most beautiful women in the room at all times. If a man tells them they are ugly it could crush them and cause to them to have a disorder. I believe more people with eating disorders abuse drugs than people with substance abuse have eating disorders because the people with eating disorders want a feeling other than eating in their lives. So they find a drug that will give them the same feeling.
ReplyDeleteI think it's fair to say people with an eating disorder have a substance abuse addiction also. I think once you have an addiction you find ways to get the same feeling from another addiction. I think being overweight just a bit leads to an eating disorder, or being not the best at something. Yes addictions are linked to personalities. Some people just can't get an addiction to something. If a woman has struggled with an eating disorder for 10 years and in 3 months recovers from that, I'd say that woman must of had a small disorder because some people have trouble for years beating an addiction. Yes women are more affect by eating disorders than men. Women want to be the most beautiful women in the room at all times. If a man tells them they are ugly it could crush them and cause to them to have a disorder. I believe more people with eating disorders abuse drugs than people with substance abuse have eating disorders because the people with eating disorders want a feeling other than eating in their lives. So they find a drug that will give them the same feeling.
ReplyDeleteIt is not fair to say that the majority of people with eating disorders also have have an addiction. However, it can be said that these people are more probable to abuse substances than the general population. There is also a slight difference between an addiction to drugs and alcohol and substance abuse. A person can abuse a substance by binge drinking but not have an alcohol addiction. I don't think you cure an addiction by becoming addicted to another substance. The biggest factors that contribute to an eating disorder are emotional factors. The women who had eating disorders for over ten years recover in a few months supports that eating disorders are more psychological. I believe that women are more affected by eating disorders than men are because they are more conscious about their body image. Substance abuse is more common than eating disorders in the general population. According to the article, 9 percent of the general population abuse drugs while 3 percent have eating disorders. This is the reason for the numbers between the two groups.
ReplyDeleteI believe that there is a direct link between women who suffer from eating disorders and from drug abuse. To have an eating disorder means that you also must have an addictive personality, and if you have an addictive personality in general you are more likely to become addicted to other things. I believe that once you have an addiction to one thing, you are very likely to get addicted to something else that could be even worse. Personality is the biggest factor related to the cause of an eating disorder. If you naturally have low self-esteem then you are more likely to have an eating disorder. If you are very competitive and domineering then you are also more likely to get caught up in an eating disorder. I also think that once you have an eating disorder you will have one for the rest of your life. It isn't something you can get over in 3 months, it is like any other addiction and you will struggle with it forever. I think the main reason why so many individuals with eating disorders also abuse drugs is because they get caught up in the endless addict cycle mainly due to their personality.
ReplyDeleteI don't think it's fair to say that substance abuse and eating disorders are related. And about the woman who is "cured" after three months, I personally think that part is very possible, but it's not the same for every addiction. If a woman is anorexic, when she stops starving herself and eats like a normal person like she should, I don't think she should still be classified as anorexic. An alcoholic on the other hand, could be completely sober for 10 years and still be called an alcoholic. There are also definitely addictions that affect more women then men, specifically eating disorders. Women are brought up these days in a society that makes us feel like we need to look like all the celebrities on the magazine covers and in the movies. Unfortunately, some women take drastic measures, such as eating disorders, in order to fulfill their need to look perfect. It affects men too, but most men don't really care how they look and don't feel the need to be ridiculously thin like some women do.
ReplyDeleteIf a person has an addiction they are most likely always going to find something to be addicted to, whether they are aware of it or not. However, those addictions could be small, nonharmful addictions. I feel as though every single person in the world is at least addicted to one thing whether it being a little or big addiction. I believe that addictions are most definitely linked to a person's personality beccause you have people with what are said to be addictive personalitites.
ReplyDeleteWomen tend to have more problems with eating disorders than man because I feel as though men have more issues with trying to obtain larger muscles to become more bulky where as women want to lose weight. I think it is present in men as well but it just isn't made into as big of a deal as within women. I think the different percentages have to do with people who are trying to lose weight, those of whom have eating disorders, use substances because they can make them skinner so they become addicted to that as well. Whether it's medication they start to abuse or other nonmedical drugs, they still can have side affects including weight lose and such causing people with eating disorders to rely on such substances.
When a person has an addiction, I do believe that they also try to find other substances to help them get a new "fix." I also believe that it's not a set fact that one certain substance leads to another specific substance. Any one addiction has the same chance of leading into another addiction of any type. An eating addiction could lead to a self harm addiction because someone is not happy with themselves, but at the same time could lead to a drug addiction in a completely different person. There are too many factors to solely blame it on one individual thing. Gender, personality, history, stress levels in peoples lives are all contributing factors but not one is more prominent than the other. I don't believe women are more susceptible to substance abuse than men, but I do believe that women are put through a lot more than men and have to put up with more. Thus creating more opportunities for them to break and turn to other coping methods.
ReplyDeleteI do not believe it is fair to say that someone with an eating disorder is automatically assumed to abuse a substance also. This makes no sense whatsoever. However, I do believe that once you kick one addiction, you do replace it with other addictions. Those addictions are usually something more socially acceptable. They wouldn't necessarily be considered addictions by society, but it would be those people pouring their own time into something else that they are interested in, thus an "addiction." In this sense, addictions are definitely linked to personality. People enjoy things they are interested in which are determined by their personality. I would say that these statistics can not have too much "bank" placed on them. There are too many factors that go into why people do the things that they do. Stress, weight, social habits, family history, and even gender contribute to all the reasons why people have a drug addiction or an eating disorder. You can't say that an addiction to a substance or an eating disorder can contribute to why a person has both problems.
ReplyDeleteI don't think eating disorders are substance abuse problems because their is no substance being added to your system. And also you can have an eating disorder with having another disorder or addiction to anything else. I think it is fair to say that future addictions could cure old addictions because their is such a thing as a healthy addiction. the biggest factors that lead to eating disorders are from poor self image and bad self esteem. It could be linked to personality because a part of your personality is confidence and without that you could get an addiction or disorder. Women suffer from this more because there is more pressure for women to have "the body" but men can be seen in many different ways with no negative responses. I think that women can have it for so long and get cured fast because whats being cured is their confidence not a substance abuse problem.
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