Eating one's words, Part II: the embodied mind and reflective function in anorexia nervosa—theory

Abstract

Anorexia nervosa as a psychiatric disorder presents itself through the concreteness of symptoms. Emotions are experienced as a corporeality here‐and‐now. In a companion article, Part I, different ‘body metaphors’ are described and categorised. The human body functions as metaphor, and in anorexia nervosa there is a striking closeness between emotions and different bodily experiences. This is interpreted as impaired ‘reflective function’, referring to the capacity to make mental representations, and is proposed as a central psychopathological feature. The psychodynamic concepts ‘concretised metaphors’ and ‘psychic equivalence’ are discussed as useful tools to better understand such compromised symbolic capacity. Psychotherapy in anorexia nervosa can be described as a relational process where concretised metaphors will be developed into genuine linguistic ones. Part III in this series of articles presents an outline for psychotherapy for anorexia nervosa. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and Eating Disorders Association.