JOAN..

Joan is fourteen years old, a bright student, and suffering from self-imposed starvation. She has anorexia nervosa. Anorexia means 'without appetite' and nervosa means 'of nervous origin'. One morning six months ago Joan looked at herself in the mirror and decided she needed to lose some weight. Then 1.65 meters tall and weighing 50 kilos, she presently weighs 37 kilos and is in the hospital where she is undergoing psychiatric treatment and being fed intravenously.
What happened to Joan? Why has she ruthlessly starved herself nearly to death? Joan is a typical anorexic - an adolescent girl who refuses to eat for the purpose of rebelling against the pressures imposed upon her by the adult environment. Family members - sometimes the mother, sometimes the father, sometimes both - require her to achieve more than they have in their lives. In her mind, school unites with her family to push her forward. Submissive for years, what does she finally do? She refuses food, says no to the two forces that are pushing her. Instead of growing into a mature woman, she holds back her physical growth by self-imposed starvation. In fact, she regresses to childhood, to the stage when she lacked curves. No one expected much from her then, and she was dependent upon adults who gave her love and approval without demanding anything from her in return.
Anorexia nervosa, formerly not recognized as a disease, has become common among adolescent girls. Today the cure is prolonged treatment by a psychiatrist who initiates discussion among family members and the patient to determine the causes and ways to eliminate them in the future.