Hunger Strike or Medical Disorder? Is Anorexia Caught in Our Flawed Dichotomy Between Body and Mind? |
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Authors: | Peter Churven |
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Institution: | Senior child and family psychiatrist in private practice at Millswyn Clinic, 466 Punt Rd., South Yarra VIC 3141. |
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Abstract: | From a philosophic perspective on clinical practice, anorexic women and their therapists are at risk of being caught in the dichotomy between mind and body that has characterised Western thought, at least since Descartes. If doctors and patients collude in an obsession over weight and refeeding, arising from this flawed dichotomy, it may lead to flawed treatment. Patients describe eating restriction/going on hunger strike as a desperate attempt to achieve a sense of self that can develop into an addiction to the starving state. The extent to which contemporary treatments address these issues is examined. |
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Keywords: | anorexia family therapy body— mind dichotomy treatment philosophy |
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