The action of drinking and eating is basic for survival, but as a type of behavior, it is also prone to giving rise to the development of psychopathologies. Ultimately, where there is behavior, there is the possibility that it will transform into harmful behavior, as Clinical Psychology shows us.
In this article we will focus on an eating disorder in which both the behavior of eating appropriately and drinking excessively occur. This is drunkorexia, also called alcoholorexia Let’s see what it consists of.
Drunkenness: combination between anorexia and alcoholism
Alcohol is a psychoactive substance that enjoys great popularity and social acceptance, to the point of being part of the idiosyncrasy of a large number of cultures. It is associated with socialization and disinhibition, and its consumption often begins in adolescence.
At this age too This is when some adolescents may begin to develop eating problems, often based on the group’s search for acceptance at a stage when they are still searching for their own identity. Sometimes, both elements can be associated in a disorder that is highly dangerous for the life of those who suffer from it, and this is where drunkorexia comes into play.
It is called drunkorexia or alcoholorexia. a dangerous eating disorder which is characterized by the progressive substitution of food intake for alcohol consumption with the patient’s objective of losing or reducing weight.
People who suffer from this type of disorder suffer an intense fear of becoming fat and gaining weight, which appears along with a high level of body distortion that makes them appear extremely thick. This, together with the obsession and overvaluation of thinness, makes them decide to limit their intake or resort to purgative behaviors in order to lose weight.
In the case of drunkorexia, the person decides to replace the calories acquired through food with those obtainable from alcohol, something that means that in practice they stop eating to focus on drinking In many cases, they also use other purgative behaviors afterward, such as making themselves vomit to lose the calories they may have acquired from alcohol.
On the other hand, the fact of using alcoholic beverages has to do with poor management of the anxiety generated by the development of the disorder itself: the consumption of this substance is used to try to alleviate the discomfort, something that generates a feeling of guilt and regret. immediate.
Generally this disorder, increasingly common and included within other specified eating disorders, is suffered by young people and adolescents Although there are cases in both sexes, it seems three times more common in women.
Great risks and consequences
It is a highly dangerous alteration with fatal potential that combines the consequences and risks of eating disorders such as anorexia and those of alcohol consumption, abuse or even dependence. The alterations can be physical, neurological or even psychological altering organs such as heart, kidneys, liver, brain or blood vessels.
In this sense, we find ourselves with excessive weight loss until reaching a clinically dangerous underweight, which can trigger amenorrhea, insomnia, dizziness, tachycardia, arrhythmias, hypopressure, anxiety, cyanosis kidney and liver problems (even leading to kidney/liver failure), pain, constipation, alopecia, fatigue, suicidal ideation or depression.
It also causes problems with attention and concentration, memory, physical capacity, irritability or decreased libido, as well as a tendency to lie (especially in relation to food).
They are joined to this alterations typical of alcohol dependence such as liver problems such as cirrhosis, gastrointestinal problems, cardiovascular problems, hallucinations, confusion, inability to concentrate, memory problems, kidney failure, coma or even death. Also irritability, anxiety, depression and social conflicts with family, partner and friends.
In addition, performance problems appear at an academic and work level, and can even lead to dismissal. Legal and judicial problems may also arise.
Furthermore, it must be taken into account that the fact Not eating causes alcohol to have a greater effect on the brain and body, something that makes it easier for negative consequences to appear with its use. For example, it is more likely that neurological or digestive problems may appear. It is also more likely that alterations such as Wernicke’s encephalopathy and Korsakoff syndrome may appear.
Causes of this disorder
The causes of drunkorexia are not completely defined, considering that this disorder has a multi-causal origin, as normally occurs with all psychological disorders in general.
Among the different factors that can affect or facilitate its appearance are the transmission and overvaluation of beauty canons centered around thinness It is common for those who suffer from this disorder to have feelings of insecurity.
In many cases they have been able to experience rejection experiences that have made them suffer greatly, a rejection that they may have linked to their body shape. These experiences can lead them to resort to elements such as alcohol to lose their inhibitions or feel more accepted. At the personality level, it is common for them to have a personality that is either rigid and perfectionist or extremely labile on an emotional level.
Parental models can also have a certain effect in the event that overvalued ideas are transmitted regarding the body figure or if the image of alcohol is transmitted as a way to solve or avoid problems.
On the other hand, it is estimated that there are also genetic predispositions that influence the chances of developing drunkorexia. However, these are not clear, and in any case it would involve many genes interacting with each other. In no case can a psychological disorder be developed solely by genetic factors, but rather these are related to the development of the organism in interaction with its environment.
Treatment
Treating drunkorexia requires a multidisciplinary intervention that takes into account both dietary alteration and possible alcohol dependence as well as the importance of the person’s social context.
Firstly, if the patient is in an emergency situation, a hospital admission may be necessary, in which the first thing will be to stabilize their state of health and help them regain a minimum weight, while monitoring their condition. state and its constants are controlled.
Another possible route of entry in the case of drunkorexia is alcohol poisoning or to the effects or alterations caused by the absence of nutrients and intoxication or the effects of alcohol consumption, in multiple body systems.
Once the patient is stable, work must be done on developing an appropriate diet and using strategies such as cognitive restructuring to combat dysfunctional beliefs.
Another useful strategy, both for restricting the intake and consumption of alcohol, involves exposure with response prevention to anxiety-generating stimuli Of course, first, deep work at a cognitive level is necessary.
Before doing so, it will be necessary to generate a desire for change, ensuring that the patient little by little becomes aware of the existence of a problem and its consequences and risks. Later it is possible to help make a decisional balance that allows you to see the need to make a change and leave the previous behavior behind and little by little establish guidelines and plans to make and subsequently maintain the desired change over time.
Working on stress management and social skills can be useful. The practice of psychoeducation with the affected person and also with their environment can be useful so that everyone can understand the process that the affected person is following, as well as to offer various guidelines and assess possible complications in the treatment.
