Disgust and Anorexia Nervosa: confusion between self and non-self

Abstract

Disgust is recognised as a significant emotion in several psychological conditions, including Anorexia Nervosa (AN). The disgust experience is underpinned by the ability to discriminate between the self and non-self. Self/non-self discrimination is an adaptive, phylogenetic mechanism that facilitates rejection and avoidance of potentially aversive external influences. In this review, AN is conceptualised as a disorder of disrupted self/non-self discrimination, where a disturbed sense of self results in emotional responses characterised by disgust and abhorrence at the self: self-disgust. The features underlying self-/non-self-discriminatory ambiguity in AN are discussed in relation to low interoceptive sensitivity and the possibility of constraints on neuroplasticity in the somatosensory cortex during puberty. The consequences of altered experiences of self, and the emotional response of self-disgust, are considered in relation to core AN symptoms including food restriction and avoidance, and the developm...