Images of air-brushed models and smiling movie stars surround us daily. People see them in magazines, on TV, and even on the cover of their favorite romance novels. Because of this bombardment of fake images, individuals don’t seem to notice how these images hurt them.
With the help of addiction and body image treatment, you can identify how you see yourself daily. Because of how body image affects mental health and the link between body image and substance abuse, you should work on creating a healthy body image that is realistic and kind to yourself. Call 833.754.0554 to speak with someone from Women’s Recovery about the effects of addiction on the body, our women’s eating disorder guide, and our dual diagnosis programs that simultaneously treat eating disorders and addictions.
What Happens When You Use Substances to Control Your 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 e that was previously in your stomach. In some cases, you may use drugs and alcohol to distract you from wanting to eat.
Many people struggle with addiction and other mental issues that have to do with how they see themselves, such as:
- Eating disorders
- Depression
- Anxiety
- Body dysmorphic disorder (BDD)
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 in more danger than before. You will ultimately need help from a substance abuse treatment program to overcome your abuse and addiction issues.
Effects of Addiction on the Body
For one thing, substance abuse can have significant health effects. Too much alcohol intake, for instance, can cause cancer in various body parts, 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 program for dual diagnosis cases if you’re battling addiction and an eating disorder.
How Body Image Affects Mental Health
In addition to the physical health effects, you may struggle with mental health conditions due to body image issues. For instance, many people with eating disorders also struggle 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 we see in magazines. Because there is no set-in-stone definition of perfection, it’s unattainable. Despite this fact, unfortunately, many women feel discouraged and helpless in the face of their issues with body image.
At Women’s Recovery, we strive daily to help women overcome the conditions that hold them back. As such, we offer not only mental health treatment programs but also 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
Apart from addiction treatment, seeking mental health treatment is vital to address depression, anxiety, and other mental health conditions. With mental health treatment options, you’ll learn why you struggle with guilt, hopelessness, and anxiety. Then, you can get the tools that you need to overcome these problems.
Find Body Image and Substance Abuse Treatment in Colorado at Women’s Recovery
It’s time to get help for your body image issues. With Women’s Recovery, you can learn to cope with these concerns and put yourself at ease. It’s not too late to get body image treatment. Contact Women’s Recovery today at 833.754.0554 to learn more about how we can help you.
