Shared Factors for Co-Occurring Eating Disorders and Substance Use Disorders: Neurobiology, Trauma and Attachment

In this course, Dr. Carolyn Coker Ross (MD, MPH, CEDS, co-founder of the Institute for Antiracism and Equity) explains how trauma is at the root of both eating disorders (EDs) and substance use disorders (SUDs), which have a high degree of co-morbidity. Beginning with basic brain neurobiology, Dr. Coker Ross outlines the factors, especially including child maltreatment and other adverse childhood experiences, which have lasting impacts on a person’s life. She shows scans of healthy brains compared to those which have endured trauma and discusses two case studies to illustrate the course treatment can take. Multiple facts and statistics are offered to illustrate the relationship between SUDs and trauma, EDs and trauma, and attachment and SUDs. Connecting the dots between these conditions leads to the conclusion that we should address cases of co-occurring EDs and SUDs with trauma-informed care, whose principles Dr. Coker Ross outlines.