Drunkorexia: Use Your Will to Overcome It

Drunkorexia is an eating disorder characterized by excess alcoholic intake accompanied by eating too little or even starving.

It is a non-medical term that describes an increasingly common trend among women aged 18-24 who try to offset their calorie intake from alcohol by cutting back on their normal diet. Cultural pressure to maintain a slim figure and social practices where binge drinking is considered hip, encourage drunkorexia. In the long run the condition is believed to cause a vast array of health problems including malnutrition, diabetes, heart-problems, depression, cirrhosis, etc.

It is not clear how much alcohol intake combined with how little food would qualify a person to be drunkorexic. But Sally (name altered after taking her permission to publish her story online), a former member of my yoga and meditation class fits the description quite well.

I first met Sally when she was about 18 years old. She reported that around 16 years of age, she had a 2 year history of mental depression from being in failing relationships in school. She eventually took to drinking alcohol. After about a year and gaining more than 50 lbs. of weight, she felt an intense urge to reduce her weight. Instinctively she reduced her dietary intake to the point of starving for 2-3 days every week. She did manage to lose about 30 lbs. but gradually got addicted to alcohol. Over the following couple of years she started experiencing occasional passing out, anxiety, frustration and estranged personal relationships within her social circle.

After some insistence from her mother, she decided to change her habits and mend her ways. She joined support groups and tried all conventional techniques to quit alcohol and normalize her diet but found will power wanting. She found herself breaking her resolve and relapsing into her old drunkorexic-self.

Finally she enrolled in our class upon someone's suggestion that yoga and meditation might help her cope up with her situation. When she joined, she looked dull and emaciated.

As an instructor I used to work in 2 hour sessions with her for 5 days every week. The class was structured as follows:
- In the first 15 minutes Sally would express her gratitude to everything in her life that she cared for.
- In the next 30 minutes, Sally would engage in special breathing exercises to relax the mind and calm the nerves.
- This was followed up with 45 minutes of gentle Yoga including some simple and some advanced postures.
- In the last 30 minutes, Sally would be guided through a simple meditation.

After about three months of working through our classes, Sally reported that for the first time after years, she was experiencing healthy relations with her family and friends; she had a stronger will, an improved self image, more confidence and a renewed vigor to live life. She reported that her aversion to eating had started diminishing and so had her starving spells and the amount of alcohol intake. The improvement was gradual but steady.

After about a year of practicing Yoga and meditation, Sally reported that she had completely overcome her dependence on alcohol. She was eating normally and was no longer a drunkorexic! She said what had really worked for her in our class and techniques was that instead of discussing her situation with others and someone telling her how/why she should get out of her addiction (as they do in the alcohol support groups), she found her will power and spirit herself though Yoga and meditation.