Episode 29: The Anorexic Dynamic. Or: Why eating disorders are not about the food

Lives of the Unconscious

Summary: “You are what you eat.” We are continuously negotiating our identity through food, setting the boundaries of the self. Inscribed into the symptoms of anorexia is an unconscious conflict of identity, which has something to do with one’s own longings and cravings, with a hunger for the other. In psychodynamic therapies, these longings become part of the therapeutic exchange, while also leading to a characteristic dilemma.

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Literature Recommendations

• Gill, R. (2014). Addictions From an Attachment Perspective: Do Broken Bonds and Early Trauma Lead to Addictive Behaviours? London: Routledge.
• Haber, D.H. (2022). Addiction, Accommodation, and Vulnerability in Psychoanalysis: Circles without a Center. London: Routledge.
• Potik, D. (2020). Psychodynamic Approaches for Treatment of Drug Abuse and Addiction: Theory and Treatment. London: Routledge.
• Radó, S. (1926). The psychic effects of intoxicants. An Attempt to Evolve a Psycho-Analytical Theory of Morbid Craving. The International Journal of Psychoanalysis, 7, 396.
• Voigtel, R. (2019). Sucht. Buchreihe: Analyse der Psyche und Psychothera-pie. Psychosozial-Verlag. Gießen
• Wurmser, L. (2008). Hidden Dimension. Psychodynamics in Compulsive Drug Use.