Anorexia

Anorexia nervosa is a psychosomatic condition that prevents a person from eating properly. The patient is too afraid (usually subconsciously) to put on weight, hence shuns proper nourishment. It is achieved either by refusing to eat healthy food or by vomiting what he/she has just eaten.

It is highly probable that the underlying cause is something that the patient wants to suppress by willfully remaining undernourished and face  the consequences thereof. As an eight year old girl who was being weaned out of anorexia put it, ‘it’s terrifying but it becomes a form of escapism: it makes you feel it’s your friend and will shield you from all those things you don’t want to face.’ (Amelia Hill)

The person tries to keep the mind off an underlying problem in life. Such people can be delivered from this frustrating ailment through abundant love, wise counselling and where essential, appropriate psychotherapy or psychiatric medication.  Efforts should be made to expose such patients to the stark realities of day to day life in which there is much injustice and human suffering and that we must claim victory over these problems rather than surrendering to them. For more information on anorexia, click here.

Other psychosomatic illnesses dealt with in our website are:

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