Abnormal time experiences in persons with feeding and eating disorder

a naturalistic explorative study

Giovanni Stanghellini

Milena Mancini

pp. 759-773

in: Phenomenology and the cognitive sciences 18 (4), 2019.

Abstract

To provide a qualitative analysis of abnormal temporal experiences (ATE) of persons affected by feeding and eating disorders (FED). This is a naturalistic explorative study on a group of 27 patients affected by FED interviewed over a two-year period in a clinical/psychotherapeutic setting. Clinical files were analysed by means of Consensual Qualitative Research (CQR). Twenty-one (77,8%) out of twenty-seven patients affected by FED reported at least one ATE. The main categories identified are 1) Irruption of disturbing bodily experiences (18 patients); 2) Anxiety for the passing of time (17 patients); 3) Ritualization/Digitalization of time (19 patients). ATE are a relevant feature of the life-world inhabited by people with FED and may represent an important link between abnormal bodily experiences and disorders of personal identity in these patients. The sample number is small but our preliminary findings justify testing a larger number of patients.