Essay Questions

What is anorexia?

Anorexia nervosa, which is better-known by the term anorexia, is a mental illness and eating disorder. Those who suffer from anorexia have a warped body image and typically think that they are overweight. In an effort to lose weight that sufferers typically can't afford to lose, they typically avoid eating or work out excessively. Rachel, the author and one of the subjects of Strangers to Ourselves, suffered from anorexia but ultimately healed from it as a result of extensive talk therapy and medication.

In Aviv's mind, why was Chestnut Lodge not successful in treating their patients?

In author Rachel Aviv's mind, Chestnut Lodge was not successful in treating their patients because it utilized modalities which were out-date-date and ineffective. Chestnut Lodge was also ineffective because it valued money over patient care and patient safety and patients getting better. In many ways, Chestnut Lodge was barbaric.

How does culture inform the way that people view mental illness?

The culture that people are in is highly determinative in how people view mental illness. For Rachel, who was born and grew up in the United States, people were supportive when she and her family revealed that she had been suffering from Anorexia. The woman who was born and lived in the Middle East was looked at as less-than as a result of their culture and was not given the psychiatric help she so desperately needed. The difference between two cultures is acceptance: one accepted and to an extent understood the person (Rachel) with mental illness; the other didn't understand and thus didn't help the other person clearly suffering from mental illness.