How did COVID-19 undermine the anorexic defenses and contributed to the increase and exaggeration of anorexia in the population?
In response to the loss of control caused by the Corona pandemic, many people reacted similarly to the anorexic mechanisms of an extreme need to control the uncontrollable. People imposed several restrictions and prohibitions on themselves, sometimes punishing themselves for violating their restrictions. Thus, it can be argued that the reality created by COVID-19 corresponded with the psychological and behavioral mechanisms of anorexia.
When anorexics are faced with a reality that becomes overwhelming, their control can extend into omnipotence, facilitating a psychic retreat (Steiner, 1993). According to Selvini Palazzoli, (1978), anorexics have an extreme Cartesian internal dichotomy: they believe that their soul transcends their bodies, giving them complete control and power over their own behavior as well as the behavior of others (Selvini Palazzoli. 1978, 223). Having the perception of being able to withstand limitations and prohibitions may serve as a platform for feelings of superiority and as a defense against desires and needs, which they may perceive as humiliating. Thus, the body serves as a means of enhancing self-esteem; “…in anorexia, the body serves as an instrument to achieve control, purity and psychological, social, and spiritual perfection” (Duesund & Skårderud, 2003). In its intensity and speed of spread, COVID-19 exposed the fragility of the human body. In spite of the technological and digital advancements that mankind has achieved in recent decades, the Corona virus has exposed humans as vulnerable and as lacking the knowledge and tools to combat it. The belief of humans that they were superior to other living creatures collapsed almost instantly. In this regard, it can be assumed that the Corona pandemic, in its immediate and extreme consequences, led to the collapse of the omnipotent anorexic defense. In the face of the extraordinary reality created by COVID-19, it has become difficult to maintain a Cartesian dichotomy, which gives the body the status of a controllable object. In sum, it can be argued that COVID-19 has led to the exacerbation and escalation of the incidence of anorexia through employment of two key defense mechanisms of anorexia, which are:
Implementation of prohibitions, reductions, and restrictions.
Having an omnipotent sense of self, in which the body is regarded as controllable.
The Corona pandemic forced us to undergo experiences never imagined. It especially forced us to cope with experiences of a total lack of control over our bodies, which comprises the source and the nuclear experience of the anorexic motivation. It is our view that further investigation and research is necessary, regarding the increased morbidity of anorexic illness in the context of the Corona pandemic.