Women are the bearers of children and in most parts of the world the main nurturers. The refusal of anorexic and bulimic girls to nurture themselves, even to the point of death, speaks of a deep confusion around the subject. Another issue around nurturing is that of control. I do not see the past through rosy spectacles but there is no doubt that in former times stricter controls, boundaries and borders gave at least an illusion of security. Now there are no limits and many consider the world to be spiralling out of control.
Patients speak of wishing to be in control of their lives.
We increasingly attempt to control our surroundings and the world of nature, possibly because of the insecurities we feel in a frightening environment. The internet is probably the prime example of something we have created and have become dependent upon, but is completely beyond the control of anyone. The technology we create to control the environment produces the opposite. What anorexics can do is exert control over what they eat, giving themselves the illusion that they are in control of their lives. The technological world we inhabit is accelerating at an extraordinary pace, with more information on more subjects than ever before.