by Alfred Hoffmann, Ed.D.
Dr Hoffmann presents the reader with a successful case history addressing the possible relationship of present day anorexia nervosa (and possibly bulimia) when triggered by a subconscious past-life remembrance of a catastrophic previous life related happening. There are possible indicators that anorexia nervosa can be related to a phobic food aversion fear.
Decades ago very little was known of either the origin, the critical onset, or the psychological undergirdings of anorexia. It was thought to be an esoteric rarity mentioned in small print or in footnotes in the medical texts. The media has sometimes portrayed anorexia as only an adolescent fad, and at other times as a very mysterious killer.
The word “anorexia” means loss of appetite. However, loss of appetite is not central to anorexia nervosa. The most obvious characteristic seems to be an obsession with body weight. Putting on weight seems to be the evil. However, anorexia nervosa with a weight phobia can also indicate a psychiatric disorder with delusions of contaminated food.
The first detailed descriptions date from 1873 by an English medical doctor, Dr. William Withey Gull. A French contemporary, Dr. E. C. Lasegue, also published a paper the same year describing anorexia nervosa. It was Dr. Gull who coined the name anorexia nervosa and indicated that, although both men and women are susceptible to this condition, it manifests itself more frequently in women. Anorexia nervosa seemed to be a nest of interlocking puzzles.