Two special guests joined show host Bob Sharits on KHTS AM-1220’s “The Way Out Recovery Hour” recently to talk about eating disorders and substance abuse.

Sharits, program director at the alcohol and drug treatment center The Way Out Recovery, welcomed clinicians and licensed therapists Meg Stradley and Betty Sotomayor from The Bella Vita Santa Clarita, which offers eating disorder outpatient services.

“It’s very, I think, rare in today’s world when you find someone who has either a substance abuse disorder, an eating disorder or many of the other issues that people face, that they just have one issue going on,” Sharits said. “So it’s very important that we collaborate and we coordinate care with each other.”

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Called co-occurring disorders, The Bella Vita Santa Clarita may have someone come in for help that is struggling with both an eating disorder and drug addiction, in which case they recommend treatment for the substance abuse first.

“We want to make sure that they are sober, they are clean when they come in to work on their eating disorder,” said Sotomayor. “If they’re still struggling with substance abuse, then we want to make sure that they’re okay on that aspect (first).”

Sharits pointed out that drug or alcohol use can play what he called “a very significant part” in whether or not a person is eating, so addressing that issue first may resolve what a loved one originally thought was an eating disorder.

“You take something like a stimulant, maybe methamphetamine, and a person who’s using that, they’re not eating anyway,” he said. “Whether or not they have an eating disorder is a whole other question.”

However, Stradley noted that eating disorders can have very serious health complications if left untreated, and encouraged anyone who suspects their loved one — or they themselves — might be struggling with an eating disorder to reach out for help.

Sharits echoed this sentiment, noting that the slogan of The Way Out Recovery is, “Asking for help is the first step.”

“Anyone who asks for help,” he said, “there’s plenty of help available.”

In Santa Clarita, drug issues are a major concern for many. The mission of the Santa Clarita rehab The Way Out Recovery is to provide high quality, effective alcohol and drug treatment. The drug rehab’s goal is to assist adolescents, adults and their loved ones in becoming happily and usefully whole, free from drug addiction. Those seeking Santa Clarita drug treatment or a teen drug rehab can rest assured that The Way Out Recovery’s philosophy is to teach life-long coping skills and strategies to assist in improving quality of life and living happily and meaningfully without the need of destructive behaviors.

The Way Out Recovery

28118 Bouquet Canyon Road

Santa Clarita, CA 91350

(661) 296-4444

The Way Out Recovery – Santa Clarita

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_OJoKajGxQc

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