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Disordered eating: A defense against psychosis?
Author(s) -
Hugo Philippa J.,
Lacey J. Hubert
Publication year - 1998
Publication title -
international journal of eating disorders
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.785
H-Index - 138
eISSN - 1098-108X
pISSN - 0276-3478
DOI - 10.1002/(sici)1098-108x(199811)24:3<329::aid-eat12>3.0.co;2-r
Subject(s) - psychosis , anorexia nervosa , psychology , bulimia nervosa , eating disorders , psychiatry , anorexia , psychotherapist , clinical psychology , medicine
The authors present four cases suffering with either bulimia nervosa or anorexia nervosa in conjunction with a psychotic illness. In all cases there appeared to be a reciprocal relationship between the eating disorder and psychosis such that improvement in eating precipitated or exacerbated the psychotic symptoms. We suggest that disordered eating serves as a defense against psychosis. Difficulties in treating such patients are discussed. © 1998 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Int J Eat Disord 24: 329–333, 1998.