Anorexia Nervosa and Gender - a Comprehensive Interdisciplinary Approach; Part 3: Homeopathic treatment based on the Law of Similarity

Abstract

This study was developed with the main objective of broadening the understanding of Anorexia Nervosa, as a paradigmatic condition among Eating Disorders, using the contributions of scientific knowledge from Allopathic Medicine, Homeopathic Medicine and Psychosomatics, Sociology, Anthropology and Psychology. A literature review was carried out, using the PubMed search platform, in addition to the specialized literature of Homeopathic Medicine, such as Repertory and Materia Medica. The study is divided into three parts: the first addresses historical and etiological aspects, physical and mental clinical picture, diagnosis and treatment; the second part addresses individual and collective components (micro and macro social) in the construction of the disease, using the theoretical contributions from Sociology, Anthropology and Psychology; the third and last part – this one - deals with theoretical aspects of some homeopathic medicines, at least theoretically capable of being useful in the treatment of Anorexia Nervosa, considering the Law of Similarity, contained in the Homeopathic Doctrine. Homeopathic medicines listed in both Anorexia Nervosa and Bulimia conditions were selected when concordant in both rubrics in the Repertory. Among the six selected medicines, the subjective analysis of the dynamics of the psyche and the manifestations of the upper digestive tract present in the abstract picture of Anorexia Nervosa were more consistent with the homeopathic medicine Ignatia Amara. The author concludes that interdisciplinary studies are necessary and relevant, in addition to being able to broaden the understanding of the mechanisms of human suffering, and may contribute to more effective therapies, according to the Principle of Similarity of Homeopathic Doctrine.