Inpatient treatment as a first step in recovery is a difficult choice to make, but can be a life-saving decision.
When Amy Winehouse passed away five years ago this today, it was immediately assumed that alcohol and drugs were the only cause. It wasn’t until her loved ones came forward to shed some light on another disease that plagued her. We discovered Amy had also been suffering from the eating disorder Bulimia Nervosa. Like all eating disorders, bulimia nervosa is a secret, painful disorder. When combined with a substance use disorder, it can be a fatal recipe. What were the signs? In Amy’s case, troubling signs began at a young age. Her mother recalls Amy believing that binging and purging was simply a dieting technique, and, for the most part, did not understand it was a problem. Amy later married a man who introduced her to drugs. As she was thrust into the limelight, Amy used alcohol as a crutch to help her perform.
It seems the binging and purging did not stop while Amy struggled with her chemical dependency. Bulimia, drugs, and alcohol broke down her bodily functions and her spirit. Even once it became evident there was a serious addiction and eating disorder, she always refused treatment. The type of treatment that needs to be administered at this dangerous point is most likely full inpatient treatment.
The only issue I personally have with inpatient eating disorder treatment is that it is almost ALWAYS not long enough to get to the root causes of disordered eating. But this is ok! When dangerous disorders get mixed up with drug and/or alcohol addiction, the most merciful thing you can do is give up all control and responsibility to people who KNOW how to deal with it. This is merciful, because at a certain point in a painful disorder/addiction, if you attempt to do ALL the work of recovery yourself, it becomes a futile cycle of attempt, failure, disappointment, and exacerbation of the addiction/disorder.
I like to refer to inpatient treatment as an all inclusive vacation from having to do it all yourself. Hand the welcome team you luggage, get cozy in your new digs, and leave all the work of cooking, exchange counting, and therapy to them. You literally just show up on purpose to get the most out of each portion of the program, taking home the best parts of what you learned.
THEN, being a patient of Ramey Nutrition can actually BEGIN. You will not be cured or recovered by the end of ANY inpatient treatment program, but you will have gotten a jump start on the basics. Then, and only then starts your personal journey, the one YOU write, toward your own recovery. Use what inpatient can give you, leave the rest behind, and imagine starting your journey AFTER inpatient. Let them take over until you can become stable, THEN and only then, will you be able to cognitively write your own recovery story and begin your journey.
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Yours in love and support,
Scarlett Ramey, MS, RDN, CD
P.S. Hope to see you in the comments. Let’s rally together during this time and stay connected in supporting YOUR Recovery journey. The world deserves the BEST of you.♥️