The Interplay Between Psychosis & Bulimia

In this weeks episode, Han is joined by Hazel Cornhill. Hazel is a mental health campaigner, podcaster, and blogger, who is working to increase awareness and bust stigmas around mental health. Hazel cohosts The Reality Tourist Podcast,– aka THE psychosis podcast, where Hazel speaks with others and discusses their experience of psychosis.

We begin this weeks episode by discussing the impact that bulimia and psychosis have on Hazel's day to day life. We discuss the behaviours involved in Hazel's bulimia and discuss how Hazel experiences psychosis, and how these conditions interact or are distinct.

We then speak about Hazel's experience of treatment, and how her comorbidities (including ADHD) have been managed and supported. We speak about the impact of each diagnosis, and how they worked to make support more challenging.

We then go through some hypotheses stated by M. Seeman (2014) to explore the interaction between bulimia and psychosis. These include:

• Eating disorders and psychoses are entirely separate disorders may occur in the same person by chance.

• Due to starvation, electrolyte and metabolic imbalances, psychotic-like symptoms may occur in patients with an eating disorder.

• Controlling food intake can provide mastery, achievement, and control in individuals who have a low self-efficacy (common in psychosis).

• Eating disorders are delusional in individuals who struggle with body image distortions.

• Eating disorders in an early sign of psychosis, or psychotic-like symptoms can be the sign of the beginning of an eating disorder.

• Anti-psychotics may cause weight gain and lead to eating disorder behaviours, whilst anti-depressants used in eating disorders can cause psychosis.

• Psychotic symptoms are a marker of severity in eating disorders, while food refusal signals a severe and dangerous stage of psychotic illness.

Please note that this podcast discusses eating disorder behaviours, self-harm, suicide, and psychosis. This episode may be triggering for some individuals, so please tread lightly and check in with yourself along the way.