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Published on: October 22, 2015
Blood-letting in anorexia nervosa: a case study
1Department of Psychiatry, St. George's Hospital Medical School, London, United Kingdom.
Background:
Deliberate blood-letting has been characterized as an alternative to purging behavior in bulimia.
Method:
We describe a female healthcare worker with an 8-year history of restrictive anorexia nervosa, who initially presented with anemia, using blood-letting, cold baths, and starvation to control her mental state.
Results:
In contrast with the previous cases of bulimia, the aim of blood-letting in this case of anorexia nervosa was to achieve anemia. She compared the psychic correlates of anemia to emaciation, rather than to deliberate self-harm or purging.
Discussion:
We note that mainstream 19th century psychiatry prescribed "baths, blood-letting and diet" as a treatment of "madness."
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