Anorexia Nervos A Psychological, Familial And...

Anorexia nervosa results from a complex interplay between biological, psychological, familial and sociocultural factors. Alice’s development of anorexia nervosa can be viewed through a psychoanalytic lens. Many of Alice s needs were not met or interpreted correctly in early childhood by her parents, particularly her mother causing Alice to develop ego deficiencies in identity and need for control. This thought is supported by Hilde Bruch (1974) who regarded â€Å"anorectics as being in a struggle for control and their own identity - the pursuit of thinness was seen as a critical part of such a struggle†. Bruch considered that there were two main characteristics of parents that made the development of anorexia nervosa more likely in their†¦show more content†¦In his paper â€Å"Three Essays on The Theory of Sexuality† (Freud, 1962) brings nourishment and sexuality firmly together suggesting eating was a substitute for sexual activity and therefore not eat ing was a way of repressing sexual urges. In conjunction with this girls could avoid development of an adult body- hold off/extinguish menstruation, avoid breast, hips and other womanly features further delaying independence from the mother. This mentality is clearly evident in Alice in her avoidance of sexual exploration- by self or other in conjunction with focus on and loathing of body parts associated with womanhood - â€Å"impossibly wide hips, obnoxious bosom and boxy curves.† Alice s first restriction of food correlated with the onset of puberty and her father infidelity/parents separation, this loss of control over changes to body and changes to family system caused Alice ego to create defenses and manifests itself in a control of food and weight to return to a time previous to the offending event(s). Alice development of anorexia nervosa could also view through a cognitive model. Research has suggested that there is a number of cognitive distortions in the thinking