Anorexia and Religion, Part I


© Mark Stuart Ellison
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Page 2

Nov 16, 1999


Shorn of her fourteenth century piety, St. Catherine talks the language of modern anorexics. Mere penance is not good enough. She must rely on a "holy hatred of herself"--equivalent to the low self-esteem of today's sufferers--in order to achieve "perfection." A "desire" to please God is accompanied by "hunger" in which the spiritual overcomes the physical, mirroring the asexuality of late twentieth century self-starvers.

In her book, Self Starvation, From Individual To Family Therapy In The Treatment Of Anorexia Nervosa (New York: Jason Aronson, Inc. 1985), psychologist Mara Selvini-Palazzoli observes that anorexics are not suicidal, but anti-corporeal (Palazzoli, 81). They have no death wish, but instead want to escape the flesh and its infirmities (ibid.).

     

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Here's the follow-up discussion on this article: View all related messages
3.   Sep 19, 2000 11:43 AM
To Everyone:

Please be advised that there is a new policy for posting messages on this topic page. Please read same at http://www.suite101.com/topic_page.cfm/4223/2010 before posting. Thank you. ...

-- posted by jimkirk
2.   Nov 18, 1999 7:59 AM
I think religion can be a double sword because gnosticism could promote the idea that women should separate their spiritual idenity from their physical body thus allowing them to loath and punish thei ...

-- posted by tracy2uusa
1.   Nov 16, 1999 10:22 AM
Has your religious background had an effect on your eating disorder? Was it positive or negative?

-- posted by jimkirk



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