ED Deep Dive #8: Drunkorexia
*Trigger warning: This post contains references to alcohol abuse, binge eating, and purging. Please read at your own discretion.
If you’re here, you’re probably curious about what a portmanteau containing the words “drunk” and “anorexia” could possibly mean. The answer is something dangerous, diabolical, and more common than we’d like to admit.
Although not yet an official medical diagnosis and not listed in the DSM-5 like some of the other eating disorder subtypes, drunkorexia is just as serious but often overlooked. So let’s get into it.
What is ‘drunkorexia’?
According to Eating Disorder Hope, drunkorexia is:
A term that refers to individuals who use alcohol as a means to replace or perpetuate their eating disorders behaviors.
Drunkorexic behaviors can look like any of the following:
Skipping meals to “save” or compensate for calories that will be consumed through alcoholic beverages
Excessively exercising to compensate for calories consumed through alcohol
Drinking excessive amounts of alcohol in order to purge previously consumed food
The combination of calorie restriction and substance abuse creates a recipe for serious physical and mental consequences, ones that are dulled by alcohol.
I, myself, used to overhear college friends saying they would go to the gym so they could “drink more” at night. I shrugged it off back then, knowing logically it doesn’t quite work like that. But the casual acceptance of such behaviors is rampant at colleges and universities around the world, and can unknowingly plant a seed for disordered eating into adulthood.
Consequences of drunkorexia
Restricting the amount of nutrient-dense foods you consume and replacing them with a palatable form of ethanol can have dire consequences on the body, including the following:
Vitamin deficiency
Dehydration
Alcohol poisoning
Hypoglycemia (a.k.a., low blood sugar)
Increased risk for blackouts, loss of memory, unwanted sexual advances, DUIs, and hospitalization
Anemia
Increased acne
Brittle, thinning hair
Abdominal bloating and constipation
…not to mention the anxiety-inducing and depressive effects of alcohol, which can last for days.
Treating drunkorexia
Treating drunkorexia might involve a deeper conversation (with a professional) about an individual’s desire to drink alcohol as well as their reasons for restricting calorie intake, and how these two behaviors work together to work against the individual.
