LET'S KEEP IT REAL - COGNITION AND EMOTION RELEVANT TO THE MAINTENANCE OF ANOREXIA NERVOSA

Anorexia nervosa (AN) is a serious disorder with long-term consequences for those who are clinically diagnosed.  The thesis research investigated aspects of cognition and emotion relevant to the maintenance of AN that might inform psychological treatment.  One study investigated Alexithymia  (Alexithymia means difficulty identifying emotions and possible symptoms: Anger, confusion, discomfort, emptiness, increased heart rate, lack of affection, panic) and Emotional awareness and their associations with depression, anxiety, and perfectionism among patients with AN compared with a control group.  The AN group exhibited the same level of emotional awareness as the control group and the same level of alexithymia when controlling for depression and anxiety.  Alexithymia and emotional awareness were not associated. The result of the present study indicates that those with AN can trust their emotional awareness.  Ref: From the faculty of Social Science 69.84 pp. Uppsala. ISBN 978-91-554-8116-2