Females with Eating Disorders and Urinary Incontinence: A Psychoanalytic Perspective

Qin Xiang Ng, Yu Liang Lim, Wayren Loke, Kuan Tsee Chee and Donovan Yutong Lim
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Qin Xiang Ng: MOH Holdings Pte Ltd., 1 Maritime Square, Singapore 099253, Singapore
Yu Liang Lim: MOH Holdings Pte Ltd., 1 Maritime Square, Singapore 099253, Singapore
Wayren Loke: MOH Holdings Pte Ltd., 1 Maritime Square, Singapore 099253, Singapore
Kuan Tsee Chee: Institute of Mental Health, 10 Buangkok View, Buangkok Green, Medical Park, Singapore 539747, Singapore
Donovan Yutong Lim: Institute of Mental Health, 10 Buangkok View, Buangkok Green, Medical Park, Singapore 539747, Singapore

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 8, 1-6

Abstract: Eating disorders (EDs) are complicated mental illnesses with significant treatment resistance and dropout rates. For successful treatment, it is important for clinicians to better understand the patients’ narrative and their lived experiences. A thorough psychodynamic understanding of patients’ childhood attachment and primary relationships, personality traits and mental processes is, therefore, crucial for managing patients with ED. Interestingly, several studies have observed an association between functional urinary symptoms and individuals with ED. EDs such as anorexia nervosa are associated with an increased risk of all urinary symptoms, and functional incontinence was also more common in extreme female athletes with low energy availability and with disordered eating. There is, however, a dearth of literature describing this relationship, and the underlying mechanisms remain remote. In this paper, we present a psychoanalytic approach to the presence of urinary symptoms in females with EDs. We hypothesize that these symptoms are tied to specific traits or characteristics of ED patients, namely the overarching need for control, a pathological strive for perfection and the self-denial of basic bodily urges. This is discussed in relation to psychopathological processes, development and personality factors commonly seen in patients with ED.

Keywords: eating disorders; anorexia; urinary symptoms; functional disorders; incontinence (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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