Eating Disorders and Alcohol: Coping Strategies for College Students?
CEDRIC Centre counsellor Dawn Cox who has experience counselling a broad spectrum of clients has noted that coping with food (by using either binging or restricting behavioural patterns) and coping with alcohol are both strategies intended to relieve a sense of overwhelming stress in one’s life. If a student perceives that they will feel better in some way by partying (letting loose, social acceptance and bonding) and also by ensuring they stay slim (bolstered by a belief that they will be more likable if they are slim) then it is no surprise that one might turn to this extreme strategy of saving their calories for alcohol.
Unfortunately, the tremendous toll on the body and the brain is likely to lead to considerably more difficult issues. For example, without proper nutrition the brain and body cannot function well and symptoms liked increased levels of anxiety, fatigue and depression begin to appear. These symptoms then begin to affect school grades, mood and hence relationships and employment etc... In addition, thought processes do not work well without the necessary vitamins, minerals, proteins and good fats. The machine of the brain just doesn’t have the tools to run smoothly. This can lead to increased irrational thinking and on and on the spiral goes into a full blown mental health condition.
If we set aside the distinct possibility that drinking on an empty stomach often leads to extreme intoxication which, of course, has its own set of negative outcomes (e.g., nausea, alcohol poisoning, poor decision making, unwanted pregnancies, STD’s), it is still very worrisome (anxiety) to think of anyone who has a nutritionally depleted system then consuming alcohol, a toxin, and not having the essential molecules (taken from digested food) necessary for their own body to go through the process of removing the poisonous substance by breaking it down. The toxin (alcohol) then stays in the body longer poisoning a person’s organs and creating greater damage.
The principles of the CEDRIC method help clients understand how their behaviours came to be and how they can change them if they want to. They learn how to reduce and manage stress, which leads to many of these behaviours and thought patterns.
