Dr. Drew should treat eating disorders
Just finished watching Dr. Drew’s Celebrity Addiction Special… and I’ll be the first to admit that I love Dr. Drew. I think that he is insightful, sensitive, non-nonsense, and passionate. I also think he has said one of the most true things about addiction: “You are as sick as your secrets.”
Eating disorders are different from drug / alcohol addictions, but there are definitely a lot of similarities. There are a lot of components of addiction treatment that I believe in and think are important, and should be applied to eating disorders:
Recovery is a lifelong, daily process — You may not struggle with food every day (heck, you could go years of being A-OK with it), but there’s always that risk. You don’t have the luxury of playing food games (and by playing food games, I mean even casual diets or schedules that don’t allow for normal eating). I would compare “I can have a couple of drinks” with “I can lose a couple of pounds.”
Denial, and not necessarily that you have a problem, but that you need help – Denial with EDs is particularly tough because they are not as black and white as other addictions… At what point does a lot of food become a binge? Where’s the line between health-consciousness and disordered eating? You may somehow know that your thoughts and behaviors aren’t completely normal… but not to a point where you require help. You’re still trying to convince yourself that you’re okay enough or that you can handle this on your own.
The importance of personal accountability – All the support in the world isn’t going to help you if you don’t take responsibility for the disorder. This means somehow sidestepping or pushing past the denial. No one is going to monitor your food intake forever, or follow you to the bathroom forever. If you’re not in a place where you can hold yourself accountable, then this means being responsible enough to arrange necessary help and support.
There’s no magic cure – 30 days of residential treatment doesn’t mean you’re recovered. Simply attending therapy doesn’t somehow fix things.
The disorder should be taken as seriously as any potential fatal disease — I really think that with eating disorder treatment, “slips” are much more tolerated and accepted than in addictions treatment. You can really get away with only putting forth a half-ass effort, because treatment isn’t necessarily your top priority. With drugs and alcohol, using once or twice is a big deal. With eating disorders… skipping a couple meals or losing a couple of pounds = not a big deal.
I personally find it interesting that you can dismiss so many little eating disordered things, because hey — people diet, you’re doing pretty well, it’s only a couple of pounds, purging every other month is insignificant compared to 3 times a day, etc. I respect Dr. Drew a lot because I always feel that he is saying, “no, these little things count — recovery is so important that any signs of disorderedness are significant.”
You are only as sick as your secrets…
Hey, didn’t Dr. Phil say that line as well, “you’re only as sick as your secrets?” LOL
Yes, I like Dr. Drew a lot as well. His cook Cracked is pretty interesting.
I agree with your assessments of the similarities between addiction and eating disorders. The one big difference I’d say is that you don’t need alcohol or drugs, but your definitely need food. In any case, there is a lot to say in terms of being able to incorporate treatment of eating disorders with the addiction model.
I think you are spot on! ED’s often seem somehow acceptable or at least the bahviours that go with them do. So many celebrities are engaging in unhealthy eating habits that it seems almost normal to have disordered eating these days. If only people knew how miserable it would make them they might not start in the first place.
I also agree that eating disorders share a lot of similarities with addictions. They have even shown that people can get the same sort of “high” from restricting or binging and purging that people get from using drugs or alcohol.
I think that Dr. Drew would not stand for the “little slips” that people in recovery from an eating disorder get away with, which is exactly what people need. People with eating disorders are notorious for being in denial, a problem that is furthered when therapists or physicians don’t call them out and say “hey no, that is not ok.” However, the problem is – what counts as a slip? It is normal and healthy to eat salad and go to the gym, so where do you draw the line between healthy and disordered? Especially in today’s world where you have diet food everywhere, how do you tell someone with an eating disorder “no it is not ok for you to eat salad at both lunch and dinner everyday” when they see coworkers doing that as part of a diet? Whereas everyone agrees that doing cocaine even once is a problem, a slip in eating disorder recovery is not as clearly defined.
Tiptoe,
Oh no, did Dr. Phil say that? Bummer — I really dislike him.
Yes, the needing food to survive part is definitely a big difference between EDs and addictions… in fact, I would say that that makes it harder to recover from an ED… but I’ve never had a drug or alcohol addiction, so I can’t really say.
Stephanie,
It seems like in Hollywood, rehab in general has become accepted….
House,
My point exactly — the healthy/disordered line is so fuzzy. And I think that the slips / accountability thing is about even more than just denial (although that does play a large part)…. With an eating disorder, you’re essentially communicating with your body (one of the functions of the ED, at least). Following the recovery plan 100% sometimes feels like you’re saying “I am 100% okay.” Also, it’s tough to give yourself permission to recover… so when you’re having a particularly bad day or are feeling crappy about yourself or recovery, it’s easy to cut corners. And when you’re told hey, it’s okay that you cut corners, you’re doing so much better and those corners don’t really even matter… then you’re ignoring those “I am feeling crappy” signs and pushing the fuzzy disordered/healthy line a little further (cutting corners = healthy).
Okay, this comment was not as well thought-out as I intended it to be… but I guess my ultimate point is that “slips” with eating disorders should be taken as seriously as they are with drug and alcohol addictions. And by slips, I don’t mean falling to a point where you’ve lost 10 lbs or are only eating 500 calories a day… Using occasionally isn’t okay — neither is skipping meals.
Thanks for your feedback, everyone!
YES HE SHOULD!!!!! I would fly across the country in a heartbeat to be under his care!