Anorexia Patients Don't Really Know Themselves

One of the things plaguing people suffering from anorexia nervosa is a constant doubt and uncertainty about who they really are. Questions regarding their authentic, real self are common in this population, and experts say that this contributes to the disease in a discernible manner.

Many patients described for researchers a conflict going on inside them, between their real and inauthentic self. They also said that they need help in this battle, so that their authentic self may win the confrontation, and help them get better.

As a mental disorder, anorexia nervosa acts insidiously, distorting people's own image about themselves. In this particular case, it makes them think they are fat when they look in the mirror. This prompts an immediate reaction to lose weight, which is taken to extreme since nothing is actually wrong.

“For almost all, the relationship between anorexia nervosa and this authentic self was a significant issue,” say researchers with the Hastings Center, who conducted the interview. This work highlights a new method experts could go about trying to treat this dangerous condition, PsychCentral reports.