2020
Review Article
iMedPub Journals
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1
Vol. 6 No.4:12
Sam Vaknin*
Department of Psychology, Southern Federal
University, Rostov-on-Don, Russia
*Corresponding author: Sam Vaknin,
Department of Psychology, Southern Federal
University, Rostov-on-Don, Russia, Tel:
38978319143; E-mail: samvaknin@gmail.
com
Citaton: Vaknin S (2020) Eatng Disorders
and Personality Disorders. J Obes Eat
Disord Vol.6 No.4:12. DOI: 10.36648/2471-
8203.6.4.100056
Introducton
The Eatng Disordered Patent: The Diagnostc and Statstcal
Manual (DSM) IV-TR (2000) (pp. 584-5):"(Patents with eatng
disorders exhibit) feelings of inefectveness, a strong need to
control one's environment, infexible thinking, limited social
spontaneity, perfectonism, and overly restrained initatve and
emotonal expression. (Bulimics show a greater tendency to have)
impulse-control problems, abuse alcohol or other drugs, exhibit
mood lability, (have) a greater frequency of suicide atempts [1].
Eatng Disorders and Self-control
The current view of orthodoxy is that the eatng disordered patent
is atemptng to reassert control over her life by ritually regulatng
her food intake and her body weight. In this respect, eatng
disorders resemble obsessive-compulsive disorders.One of the
frst scholars to have studied eatng disorders, Bruch, described
the patent's state of mind as "a struggle for control, for a sense
of identty and efectveness." (1962,1974).In Bulimia Nervosa,
protracted episodes of fastng and purging (induced vomitng and
the abuse of laxatves and diuretcs) are precipitated by stress
(usually fear of social situatons akin to Social Phobia) and the
breakdown of self-imposed dietary rules. Thus, eatng disorders
seem to be life-long atempts to relieve anxiety. Ironically, binging
and purging render the patent even more anxious and provoke in
her overwhelming self-loathing and guilt [2-4].
Eatng disorders involve masochism. The patent tortures herself
and inficts on her body great harm by ascetcally abstaining
from food or by purging. Many patents cook elaborate meals
for others and then refrain from consuming the dishes they had
just prepared, perhaps as a sort of "self-punishment" or "spiritual
purging [5,6]. “The Diagnostc and Statstcal Manual (DSM) IV-
TR (2000) (p. 584) comments on the inner mental landscape of
patents with eatng disorders:
"Weight loss is viewed as an impressive achievement, a sign of
extraordinary self-discipline, whereas weight gain is perceived as
an unacceptable failure of self-control. “But the "eatng disorder
as an exercise in self-control" hypothesis may be overstated. If
it were true, we would have expected eatng disorders to be
prevalent among minorites and the lower classes-people whose
lives are controlled by others. Yet, the clinical picture is reversed:
the vast majority of patents with eatng disorders (90%-95%)
are white, young (mostly adolescent) women from the middle
and upper classes. Eatng disorders are rare among the lower
and working classes, and among minorites, and non-Western
societes and cultures [7].
Refusing to Grow Up
Other scholars believe that the patent with eatng disorder
refuses to grow up. By changing her body and stopping her
menstruaton (a conditon known as amenorrhea), the patent
regresses to childhood and avoids the challenges of adulthood
(loneliness, interpersonal relatonships, sex, holding a job, and
childrearing) [8].
Similarites with Personality Disorders
Patents with eatng disorders maintain great secrecy about their
conditon, not unlike narcissists or paranoids, for instance. When
they do atend psychotherapy it is usually owing to tangental
problems: having been caught stealing food and other forms of
antsocial behavior, such as rage atacks. Clinicians who are not
trained to diagnose the subtle and deceptve signs and symptoms
of eatng disorders ofen misdiagnose them as personality
disorders or as mood or afectve or anxiety disorders [9-11].
Patents with eatng disorders are emotonally labile, frequently
sufer from depression, are socially withdrawn, lack sexual
interest, and are irritable. Their self-esteem is low, their sense
of self-worth fuctuatng, they are perfectonists. The patent
with eatng disorder derives narcissistc supply from the praise
Eatng Disorders and Personality Disorders
Abstract
Eatng disorders notably Anorexia Nervosa and Bulimia Nervosa are complex
phenomena. The patent with eatng disorder maintains a distorted view of
her body as too fat or as somehow defectve (she may have a body dysmorphic
disorder). Many patents with eatng disorders are found in professions where body
form and image are emphasized (e.g., ballet students, fashion models, actors).
Keywords: Anorexia nervosa; Bulimia nervosa; Eatng disorders; Dietary rules
Received: August 11, 2020; Accepted: August 25, 2020; Published: September 01,
2020
DOI: 10.36648/2471-8203.6.4.100056
Journal of Obesity and Eating Disorders
ISSN 2471-8203