Since this is Thanksgiving week in the United States, we’ve been hearing a lot about food lately. A lot of holidays seem to center around food and eating.
For most people, this focus on food isn’t a problem. They might eat too much, complain about it, and go on temporary diets to shed this extra weight.
For others, focusing on eating and food isn’t just a temporary, holiday-related thing. Such focus can dominate and even endanger their lives. It can also relate to substance use disorder.
Some people might turn to diet pills to lose weight. But taking and abusing such pills can create the same nasty side effects of other abused drugs.
People take these pills to suppress their appetites. But drug addiction can also put a damper on a person’s appetite. You’re simply not hungry, or you’re too consumed with your drug use to eat.
But hunger is good. It reminds us to eat. Eating makes us strong, and if we’re not strong, we’re weak. (I know, this isn’t complex logic, but bear with me.) If we’re weak, we’re in danger of hurting ourselves or becoming sick.
Alcohol abuse or drug addiction does damage to strong bodies. To people who are sick, it can be devastating.
As with other types of addiction, however, there is hope. People can find treatment. It might come in the form of therapy. This makes sense. People addicted to diet pills might have concerns about their weight and their bodies. Their pill use could be related to their body image as a whole.
Therapy can address body image issues. It could examine why people feel the way they do about their bodies. Therapy could help people “flip the script,” that is, replace their negative thoughts with more positive, constructive thoughts. It could help people find focus in their lives, a focus that doesn’t involve food or trying to control their body image.
