Lie number one: Every successful person in the United States is stick-thin, with crystal-clear skin and voluptuous curves. Images of air-brushed models and smiling movie stars surround us on a daily basis. We see them in the magazines, on TV, and even on the cover of your favorite romance novel. Because of this bombardment of fake images, we don’t seem to notice how these images are hurting us. With the help of addiction and body image treatment, we can identify how you see yourself on a daily basis. Then, we can work on creating a healthy body image that is realistic and kind to yourself. For help with addiction and body image problems, contact Women’s Recovery today at 833.754.0554.
Can I Use Substances To Control My Weight?
One of the common reasons why people have used substances historically is to control their weight. Some substances, such as cocaine, cause appetite suppression, allowing you to skip meals and overpower your cravings for sugary treats. Conversely, drinking too much alcohol can cause you to vomit up everything that was previously in your stomach. In some cases, you may use drugs and alcohol to distract you from wanting to eat. Many people battle both addiction and an eating disorder.
Unfortunately, using substances to control your weight is not healthy in multiple ways. If you’re battling addiction due to your body image issues, you put yourself into more danger than you were before and will ultimately need help from a substance abuse treatment program.
For one thing, substance abuse can have significant health effects. Too much alcohol intake, for instance, can cause cancer of various parts of the body, heart disease, and diminished brain function. If you’re using this substance to control your weight, you may also be in danger of a variety of health effects, including:
- Lack of electrolytes, which can lead to irregular heartbeats and possible heart failure
- Bacterial infections
- Stomach pain
- Bloating
- Rupturing of the esophagus
It’s vital to seek body image treatment from a mental health treatment program if you’re battling both addiction and an eating disorder.
How Body Image Issues Impact Mental Health
In addition to the physical health effects, you may also be battling with mental health conditions as a result of body image issues. For instance, many people with eating disorders are also struggling with depression or anxiety because they have a false view of perfection. As such, they feel hopeless or anxious due to their perceived failures, causing them to punish themselves for these instances. However, perfection is about as real as those air-brushed pictures that we see in the magazines. Because there is no set-in-stone definition of perfection, it’s unattainable. Despite this fact, unfortunately, many women continue to feel discouraged and helpless in the face of their issues with body image.
It’s vital to seek mental health treatment to address depression, anxiety, and other mental health conditions. With mental health treatment options, you’ll learn why you struggle with feelings of guilt, hopelessness, and anxiety. Then, you can get the tools that you need to overcome these problems.
Body Image Treatment at Women’s Recovery
At Women’s Recovery, we strive on a daily basis to help women overcome the conditions that hold them back. As such, we offer a wide array of addiction treatment resources, including:
- Alcohol addiction treatment program
- Heroin addiction treatment program
- Cocaine addiction treatment program
- Opioid addiction treatment program
- Prescription drug addiction treatment program
It’s time to get help for your body image issues. With Women’s Recovery’s help, you can learn to cope with these concerns and put you at ease. It’s not too late to get body image treatment. Contact our Colorado women’s treatment center today by calling 833.754.0554 to learn more about how we can help you.
