-Social,+Psychological,+Physical+Effects

Physical Effects

When having an eating disorder your body suffers a great deal and when you add drugs to aid you in losing weight it is even more damaging to the body. Starvation and restriction of food with use of laxatives, diet pills/diuretics can be very damaging to the throat, stomach, liver and kidneys. When you don't have enough substance in your body you become very weak, can become dizzy at times, have kidney failure, heart failure, and have seizures due to lack of nutrients. In severe cases brain damage or death will occur. Some people will have loss of hair, brittle hair and nails, dry skin and will bruise easily. Heroin, Cocaine, cigarettes and alcohol are common in people with eating disorders because it helps suppress their appetite and aid in negative emotions the person might have towards themselves. In the cases of people being bulimic the acid in your vomit will cause your teeth to wear down and decay, also it will eat away at the lining in your esophagus and can cause gastric rupture. With overuse of laxatives you can become very dehydrated and can cause severe damage to your bowels and intestines. There is a misconception when taking diet pills and laxatives, people think it aids you in losing weight when all they are doing is losing water weight which can be gained back very easily.

Psychological Effects

The psychological effects eating disorders have paired with drug and alcohol misuse can be very damaging to an individual. A person can suffer greatly by not thinking they are good enough, have low self-esteem, depression, insomnia, fatigue, and anxiety. Not get enough nutrients in your body and putting foreign chemicals such as drugs and alcohol will make a person not think straight and lose touch with reality. These individuals are likely to have a distorted idea about body image and will think they are fat no matter what their body type is. This leads to starving themselves, vomiting after meals or binge eating, taking unnecessary diet pills, and unnecessary laxatives. In some cases these individuals will also over exercise to keep their weight down.

Social Effects

Eating disorders and drug and alcohol abuse can effect personal relationships greatly for an individual. Individuals with these problems will keep their disorder and their drug and alcohol abuse a secret and will even avoid social situations to keep their secret hidden. They will become depressed and have high anxiety due to poor nutrition and the misuse of the drugs and alcohol. Eating disorder and drug abuse can effect all aspects of someones life including: marriage, employment, education, financial issues, home/family life, friendships, your health and well being, and your personality. The combination of an eating disorder and drug and alcohol abuse can make a person have frequent mood swings due to poor nutrition and the damage the drugs and or alcohol is doing on your body. This will effect their relationships because no one will want you around them.