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Blood‐letting in anorexia nervosa: A case study
Author(s) -
Morgan John Farnill,
Lacey J. Hubert
Publication year - 2000
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(200005)27:4<483::aid-eat15>3.0.co;2-y
Subject(s) - anorexia nervosa , emaciation , anorexia , bulimia nervosa , psychology , psychiatry , anemia , eating disorders , psychic , psychotherapist , medicine , pathology , alternative medicine
Background Deliberate blood‐letting has been characterized as an alternative to purging behavior in bulimia. Method We describe a female healthcare worker with an 8‐year history of restrictive anorexia nervosa, who initially presented with anemia, using blood‐letting, cold baths, and starvation to control her mental state. Results In contrast with the previous cases of bulimia, the aim of blood‐letting in this case of anorexia nervosa was to achieve anemia. She compared the psychic correlates of anemia to emaciation, rather than to deliberate self‐harm or purging. Discussion We note that mainstream 19th century psychiatry prescribed “baths, blood‐letting and diet” as a treatment of “madness.” © 2000 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Int J Eat Disord 27: 483–485, 2000.