Remaking the Self through Metaphor: Recovery from Anorexia Nervosa

Abstract

Metaphors help create the self: Our awareness ofour bodies is formed through visual, sensory and verbal imagery and the associations it establishes; consciously or unconsciously. It follows, therefore, that changes to these images and associations may alter our perception of our bodies and hence of ourselves¹. An analysis of the metaphors which establish an anorexic way of being and those which assist the transformation to recovery is important in several ways: First, it can lead to a new understanding of the genesis of self starvation, bingeing and purging. Second, it provides material of value to therapists and counsellors assisting people to overcome the problem and of course to such people themselves. Third, it offers new ways of thinking about the body for all who are interested in preventing eating disorders. Finally, it sheds light on the processes by which humans experience themselves as embodied beings, suggesting by extension ways to live more fully in and through the body.