Have you heard of the phrase “eat your feelings?” Sometimes enjoying a bowl of ice cream feels good after a long, tough day at work. This may be a lighthearted activity for some people to wind down and relax. But when mood swings can dictate your eating habits, the connection between food and feelings becomes more serious.
This is where bipolar and eating disorders enter the picture. When you have bipolar disorder, you can oscillate between intense highs and difficult lows. During these mood episodes, both your appetite and food intake can be impacted. As a result, some people can end up struggling with both bipolar disorder and eating disorders at the same time. But why do these intertwine, and what can you do to pursue recovery from each disorder?
Defining Bipolar Disorder and Eating Disorders
As we explore these co-occurring disorders, it’s important to take a brief look at each condition separately. Bipolar disorder is a type of mental health disorder that can significantly impact your thinking, behaviors, and mood. It’s characterized by extreme periods of mania (highs), followed by extreme periods of depression (lows), and both can be debilitating in your relationships, work responsibilities, and daily existence.
There are three common types of bipolar disorder (bipolar I, bipolar II, and cyclothymia), and each varies in severity and frequency of mood disorders. Often, people can struggle with both bipolar disorder and alcohol addiction or drug abuse as they seek to self-medicate the symptoms associated with their mood swings.
On the other hand, eating disorders are abnormal eating behaviors often rooted in mental health issues, such as trauma, anxiety, or depression. Characterized by a strong preoccupation with body weight, image, and shape, an eating disorder can make a severe physical and emotional impact on your life, damaging relationships and impairing your ability to function. Common types of eating disorders include:
- Anorexia Nervosa: Extreme weight loss due to eating less than a healthy amount of food
- Bulimia Nervosa: Purging the food you eat in an attempt to lose weight.
- Binge Eating Disorder: A cycle of overeating involving the consumption of large quantities of food all at once
What’s the Link Between Bipolar and Eating Disorders?
According to a study by Qualitative Health Research, about 33% of people who are bipolar also have an eating disorder. So what makes the connection between bipolar disorder and eating disorders so prevalent? If you look at both conditions, their symptoms tend to overlap, explains Emerging Trends in Drugs, Addictions, and Health, such as weight fluctuations, emotional reactivity, impulsivity, and atypical depression. But it really starts with considering what goes on during bipolar disorder’s manic and depressive mood episodes, as both types can affect your eating behaviors.
During manic or hypomanic episodes, you have a tendency to act impulsively and even engage in harmful behaviors. You may also get hungrier during this time. Because of your lack of impulse control, it’s easier to pursue impulsive eating behaviors like overeating or purging food. That’s why binge eating disorder and bipolar disorder are so often connected with each other, as well as bulimia nervosa.
Once you switch over to a depressive episode, you can experience inclinations toward eating disorders in other ways. To combat your feelings of extreme depression, you may engage in maladaptive coping behaviors like overeating or restricting your diet. During your depressive state, it can be easy to struggle with low self-esteem and body image issues, making you more inclined to pursue eating disorder-related behaviors to make yourself feel better about yourself, as well as more in control.
The medications you take for bipolar disorder may also play a role in your susceptibility towards eating disorders. According to the Journal of Affective Disorders, studies have shown that certain prescription medications can potentially cause weight gain. As a result, some people may develop body image issues and begin down a path of disordered eating in response.
Why Dual Diagnosis Treatment Matters for Bipolar Disorder and Eating Disorders
If you are struggling with both bipolar and eating disorders, you’re more susceptible to delusions and hallucinations, severe anxiety, and suicidal thoughts, shares the Journal of Affective Disorders. Both conditions can also lead to major physical health issues. Consequently, there may be times when each day feels difficult to cope with as you struggle through the debilitating cycles of both disorders. Yet there’s no reason to give up hope. With the right treatment, you can learn to live a healthy life on your terms.
Considering the seriousness of both disorders, it’s critical to seek out dual diagnosis treatment that addresses both bipolar disorder and eating disorders. Otherwise, focusing on one issue leaves the other untreated. This not only keeps you from achieving long-term recovery; it also may make you vulnerable to struggling with both issues again down the road.
A comprehensive dual diagnosis treatment program is capable of treating both issues simultaneously, usually with a combination of medication as well as various therapies. At Integrative Life Center, some of the traditional and experiential therapies we use to treat bipolar disorder and eating disorders include:
- Cognitive behavioral therapy
- Dialectical behavior therapy
- Equine therapy
- Adventure therapy
- Individual and group therapy
- Yoga
- Art therapy
Integrative Life Center is Here to Help
Don’t let struggles with bipolar and eating disorders keep you from enjoying the life you deserve. At Integrative Life Center in Nashville, TN, our dual diagnosis treatment approach can help you learn to manage your bipolar disorder in a healthy way and overcome your eating disorder for the long haul. If you’re ready to achieve lasting recovery, contact us today.
