Whats the most effective treatment for someone with an eating disorder who is also abusing alcohol and other drugs?
In most cases, effective treatment means tackling the substance abuse first. When people are clean and sober, they don’t use substances. Period. That same kind of abstinence is not possible with food, so in some ways recovery from substance abuse is easier than recovery from an eating disorder where the person must face the trigger substance (food) three or four times a day.
In most cases, effective treatment means tackling the substance abuse first. When people are clean and sober, they don’t use substances. Period. That same kind of abstinence is not possible with food, so in some ways recovery from substance abuse is easier than recovery from an eating disorder where the person must face the trigger substance (food) three or four times a day. After nine to twelve months of sobriety, most people have become stable enough to move on to treatment of the eating disorder. If they are truly committed to sobriety, they won’t return to alcohol and other drugs when the going gets rough. If, however, they begin by working on the eating disorder, without a commitment to sobriety, they almost always escalate substance abuse as they decrease disordered eating behaviors. Of course if the person is in medical danger because of the eating disorder, some intervention should be made early on to preserve life. A physician and treatment team must make this judgment call. M
