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Elwyn R, Williams M, Smith E, Smith S. Two identical twin pairs discordant for longstanding anorexia nervosa and OSFED: lived experience accounts of eating disorder and recovery processes. J Eat Disord 2024; 12:127. [PMID: 39223672 PMCID: PMC11367789 DOI: 10.1186/s40337-024-01078-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/01/2024] [Accepted: 08/02/2024] [Indexed: 09/04/2024] Open
Abstract
Research into the risk of anorexia nervosa (AN) has examined twin pairs to further the understanding of the contributions of genetics, trait inheritance, and environmental factors to eating disorder (ED) development. Investigations of twin experiences of EDs have been biologically-based and have not considered the qualitative, phenomenological aspects of twin experiences. A gap in the literature exists regarding understanding of discordant twins with EDs. This research was developed in response, with the aim to deepen understanding of AN in discordant twins and to create novel ideas for further research and testing. The case studies presented in this article provide lived experience insights of two identical discordant twin pairs: one twin pair discordant for longstanding AN and one twin pair discordant for 'atypical' AN (the twin with AN has recovered). The perspectives and experiences of each co-twin (one with AN and one without) explore a number of factors that may have contributed to twin discordance in these cases, and how each twin has responded to the impact of AN in their lives. Through use of first-person accounts in case study presentation, this article centres social justice values of lived experience leadership and involvement in research. This article aims to extend current knowledge and understanding of EDs in discordant twins, particularly regarding risk for ED development, ED duration, diagnosis and treatment, and recovery processes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rosiel Elwyn
- Neuroscience and Psychiatry, Thompson Institute, University of the Sunshine Coast, Birtinya, QLD, Australia.
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2
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Ballerini M, Rossi E, Cassioli E, Tarchi L, Marchesi C, Tonna M, Stanghellini G, Ricca V, Castellini G. Psychotic-like anomalous self-experiences in feeding and eating disorders: Their role in eating psychopathology through the mediation of body uneasiness and embodiment and identity disorders. Early Interv Psychiatry 2024. [PMID: 38613397 DOI: 10.1111/eip.13527] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/17/2023] [Revised: 02/19/2024] [Accepted: 04/02/2024] [Indexed: 04/14/2024]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Psychotic-like anomalous self-experiences (ASEs) are core and early features of schizophrenia spectrum disorders, which have been recently also postulated to underlie embodiment disturbance in feeding and eating disorders (FEDs). The present study was aimed at investigating the interplay between ASEs and specific psychopathology in FED. METHODS Ninety persons with Anorexia Nervosa and 41 with Bulimia Nervosa were evaluated with the inventory of psychotic-like anomalous self-experiences (IPASE), identity and eating disorders (IDEA), body uneasiness test (BUT), and eating disorder examination questionnaire (EDE-Q). The same assessment was performed for 92 subjects recruited from the general population. Structural equation modelling was employed to test the role of embodiment/identity disorders in mediating the relationship between ASEs and ED psychopathology. RESULTS Patients with FED displayed high scores on IPASE, comparable with people with schizophrenia spectrum disorders. A significant correlation was also demonstrated between IPASE, BUT and EDE-Q. All IPASE domains were strongly related to feeling extraneous from one's own body by IDEA. All IPASE domains demonstrated a high relationship with BUT Depersonalization scale. A strong correlation was also reported between total scores of IPASE and IDEA. The mediation model confirmed that ASEs impact on FED symptomatology through the mediation of both embodiment/identity disorders and body image. DISCUSSION Anomalous interoceptive processes may represent the first step of a maladaptive process-impairing embodiment, selfhood, and identity in FED. Assessment of ASEs might be a valid tool to identify an early-shared vulnerability of severe disorders characterized by embodiment alterations.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Eleonora Rossi
- Department of Health Sciences, University of Florence, Florence, Italy
| | - Emanuele Cassioli
- Department of Health Sciences, University of Florence, Florence, Italy
| | - Livio Tarchi
- Department of Health Sciences, University of Florence, Florence, Italy
| | - Carlo Marchesi
- Department of Mental Health, Local Health Service, Parma, Italy
- Department of Medicine and Surgery, Unit of Neuroscience, University of Parma Ospedale Maggiore, Parma, Italy
| | - Matteo Tonna
- Department of Mental Health, Local Health Service, Parma, Italy
- Department of Medicine and Surgery, Unit of Neuroscience, University of Parma Ospedale Maggiore, Parma, Italy
| | - Giovanni Stanghellini
- Department of Health Sciences, University of Florence, Florence, Italy
- Centro de Estudios de Fenomenologìa y Psiquiatrìa, 'Diego Portales' University, Santiago, Chile
| | - Valdo Ricca
- Department of Health Sciences, University of Florence, Florence, Italy
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3
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Tarchi L, Stanghellini G, Ricca V, Castellini G. The primacy of ocular perception: a narrative review on the role of gender identity in eating disorders. Eat Weight Disord 2024; 29:8. [PMID: 38217553 PMCID: PMC10787908 DOI: 10.1007/s40519-023-01632-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/30/2023] [Accepted: 11/29/2023] [Indexed: 01/15/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Phenomenological research has enriched the scientific and clinical understanding of Eating Disorders (ED), describing the significant role played by disorders of embodiment in shaping the lived experience of patients with ED. According to the phenomenological perspective, disorders of embodiment in ED are associated with feelings of alienation from one's own body, determining an excessive concern for external appearance as a form of dysfunctional coping. The purpose of the present narrative review is to address the role of gender identity as a risk factor for EDs in the light of phenomenological approaches. METHODS Narrative review. RESULTS The current study discusses the interplay between perception, gender identity, and embodiment, all posited to influence eating psychopathology. Internalized concerns for body appearance are described as potentially associated with self-objectification. Furthermore, concerns on body appearance are discussed in relation to gendered social expectations. The current review also explores how societal norms and gender stereotypes can contribute to dysfunctional self-identification with external appearances, particularly through an excessive focus on the optical dimension. The socio-cultural perspective on gender identity was considered as a further explanation of the lived experience of individuals with ED. CONCLUSIONS By acknowledging the interplay between these factors, clinicians and researchers can gain a deeper understanding of these disorders and develop more effective interventions for affected individuals. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE Level V narrative review.
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Affiliation(s)
- Livio Tarchi
- Department of Health Sciences, University of Florence, AOU Careggi, Viale della maternità Padiglione 8B, 50126, Firenze, FI, Italy
| | - Giovanni Stanghellini
- Department of Health Sciences, University of Florence, AOU Careggi, Viale della maternità Padiglione 8B, 50126, Firenze, FI, Italy
- Centro de Estudios de Fenomenologia y Psiquiatria, Universidad 'Diego Portales', Santiago, Chile
| | - Valdo Ricca
- Department of Health Sciences, University of Florence, AOU Careggi, Viale della maternità Padiglione 8B, 50126, Firenze, FI, Italy
| | - Giovanni Castellini
- Department of Health Sciences, University of Florence, AOU Careggi, Viale della maternità Padiglione 8B, 50126, Firenze, FI, Italy.
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Esposito CM, Stanghellini G. The Body in Question in the Existence of Hysteric Persons: A Phenomenological Perspective. Psychopathology 2023; 56:492-498. [PMID: 37121225 DOI: 10.1159/000530355] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/01/2023] [Accepted: 03/21/2023] [Indexed: 05/02/2023]
Abstract
The concept of hysteria, although apparently surpassed by contemporary nosographic classifications, continues to be talked about. Following Charbonneau's attempt to de-feminize and de-sexualize hysteria, clinical phenomenology can offer a perspective which, freed from stigma and prejudices through the suspension of judgement, allows us to understand hysteria not as a diagnostic category but as an existential position. In this sense, hysteria would be based on a hypo-sufficiency of the embodied self, which is not perceived as solid and continuous and needs external confirmations of its adequacy. According to the optical-coenaesthetic disproportion hypothesis, the hypo-sufficiency of the embodied self originates from the difficulty of experiencing one's body from the first-person perspective and from the consequent use of the gaze of others as a prosthesis to achieve a sense of selfhood and identity. Hysteric persons develop a mode of access to their corporeality mediated by visual representations - hence the theatricalization, centrality, and seductiveness of hysteric persons' behaviour. We suggest to call "figural body" the visual apprehension of one's body which tries to compensate for the weakness of coenaesthetic apprehension of the lived body. Over time, the figural body ends up superimposing itself on the immediate experience of the lived body. Placing itself on a representative register, this image conveys not only individual ghosts but also cultural aspects, social prejudices, gender stereotypes. Thus, the attempt to experience one's own body with the mediation of the other's gaze becomes an involuntary and unaware throwing of oneself into the meshes of representation that are necessarily alienating for the person. Hysterical persons remain stuck in their inability to access an experience of their body that is not figurative, alienating themselves in representations which always come from outside.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Giovanni Stanghellini
- Department of Health Sciences, University of Florence, Florence, Italy
- Diego Portales University, Santiago, Chile
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Lucherini Angeletti L, Innocenti M, Felciai F, Ruggeri E, Cassioli E, Rossi E, Rotella F, Castellini G, Stanghellini G, Ricca V, Northoff G. Anorexia nervosa as a disorder of the subcortical-cortical interoceptive-self. Eat Weight Disord 2022; 27:3063-3081. [PMID: 36355249 PMCID: PMC9803759 DOI: 10.1007/s40519-022-01510-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/26/2022] [Accepted: 11/03/2022] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
PURPOSE Anorexia nervosa (AN) is characterized by a diminished capacity in perceiving the physiological correlates of interoceptive sensations, namely bodily self-consciousness. Given the neural division of self-processing into interoceptive-, exteroceptive- and mental-self, we hypothesize neural deficits in the interoceptive-processing regions in AN. METHODS To prove this, we reviewed resting state (rs), task and rest-task studies in AN literature. RESULTS Neuronal data demonstrate the following in AN: (i) decreased rs-functional connectivity (rsFC) of subcortical-cortical midline structures (SCMS); (ii) reduced rsFC between medial (default-mode network/DMN and salience network/SN) and lateral (executive-control network/ECN) cortical regions; (iii) decreased rsFC in mainly the regions of the interoceptive-self; (iv) altered activity with overall increased activity in response to sensory/body image stimuli, especially in the regions of the interoceptive-self; (v) lack of a clear task-related distinction between own's and others' body image. CONCLUSION These data may indicate that rs-hypoconnectivity between SCMS, as neural correlate of a reduced intero-exteroceptive integration resulting in self-objectification, might be linked to overall increased activity in interoceptive regions during sensory/body image stimuli in AN, engendering an "anxious bodily self." LEVEL OF EVIDENCE I: Systematic review.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lorenzo Lucherini Angeletti
- Department of Health Sciences, Psychiatry Unit, University of Florence, Largo G. Alessandro Brambilla 3, 50134, Florence, Italy.
| | - Matteo Innocenti
- Department of Health Sciences, Psychiatry Unit, University of Florence, Largo G. Alessandro Brambilla 3, 50134, Florence, Italy
| | - Federica Felciai
- Department of Health Sciences, Psychiatry Unit, University of Florence, Largo G. Alessandro Brambilla 3, 50134, Florence, Italy
| | - Emanuele Ruggeri
- Department of Health Sciences, Psychiatry Unit, University of Florence, Largo G. Alessandro Brambilla 3, 50134, Florence, Italy
| | - Emanuele Cassioli
- Department of Health Sciences, Psychiatry Unit, University of Florence, Largo G. Alessandro Brambilla 3, 50134, Florence, Italy
| | - Eleonora Rossi
- Department of Health Sciences, Psychiatry Unit, University of Florence, Largo G. Alessandro Brambilla 3, 50134, Florence, Italy
| | | | - Giovanni Castellini
- Department of Health Sciences, Psychiatry Unit, University of Florence, Largo G. Alessandro Brambilla 3, 50134, Florence, Italy
| | - Giovanni Stanghellini
- Department of Health Sciences, Psychology Unit, University of Florence, Florence, Italy
| | - Valdo Ricca
- Department of Health Sciences, Psychiatry Unit, University of Florence, Largo G. Alessandro Brambilla 3, 50134, Florence, Italy
| | - Georg Northoff
- Mental Health Centre, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, China
- Centre for Cognition and Brain Disorders, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou, China
- The Royal's Institute of Mental Health Research & University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada
- Centre for Neural Dynamics, Faculty of Medicine, Brain and Mind Research Institute, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada
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Castellini G, Cassioli E, Rossi E, Mancini M, Ricca V, Stanghellini G. Bridging cognitive, phenomenological and psychodynamic approaches to eating disorders. Eat Weight Disord 2022; 27:2273-2289. [PMID: 35179727 PMCID: PMC9556383 DOI: 10.1007/s40519-022-01379-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/18/2021] [Accepted: 11/17/2021] [Indexed: 10/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Cognitive, psychodynamic, and phenomenological scholars converged their attention on abnormal bodily phenomena as the core psychopathological feature of eating disorders (EDs). While cognitive approaches focus their attention on a need for "objective" (i.e., observable, measurable) variables (including behaviours and distorted cognitions), the phenomenological exploration typically targets descriptions of persons' lived experience. According to a new emerging phenomenological perspective, the classic behavioural and cognitive symptoms of EDs should be considered as epiphenomena of a deeper core represented by a disorder of the embodiment. The cognitive-behavioural model is the most studied and, up till now, clinically efficacious treatment for EDs. However, as any coherent and scientifically grounded model, it presents some limitations in its application. Numerous patients report a chronic course, do not respond to treatment and develop a personality structure based on pathological eating behaviours, since "being anorexic" becomes a new identity for the person. Furthermore, the etiopathogenetic trajectory of EDs influences the treatment response: for example, patients reporting childhood abuse or maltreatment respond differently to cognitive-behavioural therapy. To obtain a deeper comprehension of these disorders, it seems important to shift attention from abnormal eating behaviours to more complex and subtle psycho(patho)logical features, especially experiential ones. This characterisation represents the unavoidable premise for the identification of new therapeutic targets and consequently for an improvement of the outcome of these severe disorders. Thus, the present review aims to provide an integrated view of cognitive, psychodynamic, and phenomenological perspectives on EDs, suggesting new therapeutic targets and intervention strategies based on this integrated model. Level of Evidence: Level V.Level of evidence Level V: Opinions of authorities, based on descriptive studies, narrative reviews, clinical experience, or reports of expert committees.
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Affiliation(s)
- Giovanni Castellini
- Psychiatry Unit, Department of Health Sciences, University of Florence, Largo Brambilla 3, 50134, Florence, Italy.
| | - Emanuele Cassioli
- Psychiatry Unit, Department of Health Sciences, University of Florence, Largo Brambilla 3, 50134, Florence, Italy
| | - Eleonora Rossi
- Psychiatry Unit, Department of Health Sciences, University of Florence, Largo Brambilla 3, 50134, Florence, Italy
| | - Milena Mancini
- Department of Psychological Sciences, Health, Territory, G. d'Annunzio University of Chieti and Pescara, Chieti, Italy
| | - Valdo Ricca
- Psychiatry Unit, Department of Health Sciences, University of Florence, Largo Brambilla 3, 50134, Florence, Italy
| | - Giovanni Stanghellini
- Department of Psychological Sciences, Health, Territory, G. d'Annunzio University of Chieti and Pescara, Chieti, Italy.,Centro de Estudios de Fenomenología y Psiquiatría, Diego Portales' University, Santiago, Chile
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Poletti M, Preti A, Raballo A. Eating Disorders and Psychosis as Intertwined Dimensions of Disembodiment: A Narrative Review. CLINICAL NEUROPSYCHIATRY 2022; 19:187-192. [PMID: 35821871 PMCID: PMC9263683 DOI: 10.36131/cnfioritieditore20220307] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Download PDF] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Although psychosis is not one of the most commonly recognized psychiatric comorbidities of Eating Disorders (ED), there is an increasing empirical evidence of associations between these psychopathological conditions. Indeed, ED as well as early manifestations of schizophrenic psychosis emerge during developmental years and might present some affinities in the presentation at onset. For example, adolescents with anorexia nervosa (AN) may report psychotic-like eating-related symptoms such as delusional-like body image distortions and/or "anorexic voice". Conversely, early expressions of schizophrenia spectrum vulnerability might involve altered bodily experiences, delusional ideation on food and eating as well as pseudo-anorectic behaviors. From a phenomenological perspective, this partial symptomatic overlap may lie on common features of disturbed corporeality in terms of disembodiment, although these alterations of embodiment are presumably rooted in distinct pathogenetic pathways (e.g., primary childhood ontogenetic pathway in schizophrenia vs. a secondary adolescent ontogenetic pathway in AN). A clinical-phenomenological attitude could be important not only to better discern potential overlaps and affinities between the two conditions, but also to better conceptualize and treat those background alterations of the embodied self. In particular, a phenomenological exploration of the experiential side of eating-related behaviors could be a decisive step to support early differential diagnosis and treatment appropriateness.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michele Poletti
- Department of Mental Health and Pathological Addiction, Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service, Azienda USL-IRCCS di Reggio Emilia, Reggio Emilia, Italy,Corresponding author Michele Poletti Department of Mental Health and Pathological Addiction, Child and Adolescent Neuropsychiatry Service, Azienda USL-IRCCS di Reggio Emilia, Via Amendola 2, Reggio Emilia, Italy, phone +39052233550 E-mail:
| | | | - Andrea Raballo
- Section of Psychiatry, Clinical Psychology and Rehabilitation, Department of Medicine, University of Perugia, Perugia, Italy,Center for Translational, Phenomenological and Developmental Psychopathology
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Anomalous self-experience, body image disturbance, and eating disorder symptomatology in first-onset anorexia nervosa. Eat Weight Disord 2022; 27:101-108. [PMID: 33661516 PMCID: PMC8860951 DOI: 10.1007/s40519-021-01145-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/12/2020] [Accepted: 02/01/2021] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
PURPOSE Anorexia nervosa-restrictive subtype (AN-R) is a life-threatening disorder relying on behavioural abnormalities, such as excessive food restriction or exercise. Such abnormalities may be secondary to an "objectified" attitude toward body image and self. This is the first study exploring the impact of anomalous self-experience (ASEs) on abnormal body image attitude and eating disorder (ED) symptomatology in individuals with AN-R at onset. METHODS We recruited Italian female participants, 40 with AN-R (mean age 18.3 ± 2.3) and 45 age and educational level-matched healthy controls (HCs) (mean age 18.2 ± 2.6). ASEs, body image attitude, and ED symptom severity were assessed through the examination of anomalous self-experience (EASE), the body uneasiness test (BUT), and the eating disorder examination questionnaire (EDE-Q), respectively. We conducted multivariate analysis of variance to investigate distribution patterns of variables of interest, and mediation analysis to test the effect of ASEs and body image on ED symptomatology. RESULTS Individuals with AN-R scored higher than HCs on the EASE (p < .0001). A direct effect of ASEs on ED severity (p = 0.009; bootstrapped LLCI = 0.067, ULCI = 0.240) was found in AN-R. After modelling the effect of abnormal body image attitude, the relationship between EASE total score and ED symptomatology was significantly mediated by BUT (p = 0.002; bootstrapped LLCI = 0.001, ULCI = 0.172). CONCLUSION Although the exact pathways linking AN-R to self-disorder remain to be identified, a broader exploration of transdiagnostic features in AN, including explorations of different dimensions of self-experience and intersubjectivity, may shed further light on the clinical phenomenology of the disorder. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE Level III, case-control analytic study.
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Abstract
Anorexia nervosa is often regarded primarily as a disorder of the body image, with affected individuals submitting themselves to the dictate of a predominant model of slenderness. However, even though this frequently functions as a gateway to the disorder, the paper intends to show that the actual conflict in anorexia consists in a fundamental alienation of the self from the body. In order to analyze this alienation from a phenomenological point of view, the paper introduces the polarity of lived body (body-as-subject) and physical body (body-as-object). It then explores the phenomenology of anorexia, drawing on characteristic self-reports as well as on the phenomenological, psychoanalytic and cultural science literature. The anorexic conflict of embodiment arises in adolescence, where the body becomes an object of the other's gaze in a special way. Starting with an attempt to comply with the ideal body image, the anorexic patient increasingly fights against her dependency on her body and its uncontrollable nature, above all its hunger and femininity. To be in total control of her body and to gain independence from it, becomes the source of a narcissistic triumph. Thus, in striving for autonomy and perfection, the anorexic patient alienates herself from her embodiment. This results in a radical dualism of 'mind' and 'body': pursuing the ideal of an asexual, angelic, even disappearing body. Anorexia is thus conceived as a fundamental conflict of embodiment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thomas Fuchs
- Psychiatrische Universitätsklinik, Voss-Str. 4, 69115, Heidelberg, Germany.
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Cascino G, Marciello F, Abbate-Daga G, Balestrieri M, Bertelli S, Carpiniello B, Corrivetti G, Favaro A, Renna C, Ricca V, Salvo P, Segura-Garcia C, Todisco P, Volpe U, Zeppegno P, Monteleone P, Monteleone AM. How Is the History of Early Traumatic Exposure Associated With the Psychopathological Outcomes of COVID-19 Related Lockdown and Subsequent Re-opening in People With Eating Disorders? Front Psychiatry 2021; 12:789344. [PMID: 34955933 PMCID: PMC8692284 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2021.789344] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/04/2021] [Accepted: 11/15/2021] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
The negative impact of COVID-19 pandemic on people with Eating Disorders (EDs) has been documented. The aim of this study was to evaluate whether a history of traumatic experiences during childhood or adolescence was associated with a higher degree of psychopathological worsening during COVID-19 related lockdown and in the following re-opening period in this group of people. People with EDs undergoing a specialist ED treatment in different Italian services before the spreading of COVID-19 pandemic (n = 312) filled in an online survey to retrospectively evaluate ED specific and general psychopathology changes after COVID-19 quarantine. Based on the presence of self-reported traumatic experiences, the participants were split into three groups: patients with EDs and no traumatic experiences, patients with EDs and childhood traumatic experiences, patients with EDs and adolescent traumatic experiences. Both people with or without early traumatic experiences reported retrospectively a worsening of general and ED-specific psychopathology during the COVID 19-induced lockdown and in the following re-opening period. Compared to ED participants without early traumatic experiences, those with a self-reported history of early traumatic experiences reported heightened anxious and post-traumatic stress symptoms, ineffectiveness, body dissatisfaction, and purging behaviors. These differences were seen before COVID-19 related restrictions as well as during the lockdown period and after the easing of COVID-19 related restrictions. In line with the "maltreated ecophenotype" theory, these results may suggest a clinical vulnerability of maltreated people with EDs leading to a greater severity in both general and ED-specific symptomatology experienced during the exposure to the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Affiliation(s)
- Giammarco Cascino
- Department of Medicine, Surgery and Dentistry “Scuola Medica Salernitana”, University of Salerno, Salerno, Italy
| | - Francesca Marciello
- Department of Medicine, Surgery and Dentistry “Scuola Medica Salernitana”, University of Salerno, Salerno, Italy
| | - Giovanni Abbate-Daga
- Department of Neuroscience, Eating Disorders Center for Treatment and Research, University of Turin, Turin, Italy
| | | | - Sara Bertelli
- Department of Mental Health, ASST Santi Paolo e Carlo, Milan, Italy
| | - Bernardo Carpiniello
- Section of Psychiatry, Department of Medical Sciences and Public Health, University of Cagliari, Cagliari, Italy
| | | | - Angela Favaro
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Padova, Padua, Italy
| | - Caterina Renna
- Mental Health Department, Center for the Treatment and Research on Eating Disorders, ASL Lecce, Lecce, Italy
| | - Valdo Ricca
- Psychiatry Unit, Department of Neurological and Psychiatric Sciences, University of Florence, Florence, Italy
| | - Pierandrea Salvo
- Eating Disorders Centre Portogruaro, AULSS 4 Veneto Orientale, San Donà di Piave, Italy
| | - Cristina Segura-Garcia
- Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences, University Magna Graecia of Catanzaro, Catanzaro, Italy
| | - Patrizia Todisco
- Eating Disorders Unit, Casa di Cura “Villa Margherita”, Arcugnano, Italy
| | - Umberto Volpe
- Section of Clinical Psychiatry, Department of Clinical Neurosciences/DIMSC, Università Politecnica delle Marche, Ancona, Italy
| | - Patrizia Zeppegno
- Department of Translational Medicine, Psychiatry Institute, Università del Piemonte Orientale, Novara, Italy
| | - Palmiero Monteleone
- Department of Medicine, Surgery and Dentistry “Scuola Medica Salernitana”, University of Salerno, Salerno, Italy
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Rossi E, Castellini G, Cassioli E, Sensi C, Mancini M, Stanghellini G, Ricca V. The role of embodiment in the treatment of patients with anorexia and bulimia nervosa: a 2-year follow-up study proposing an integration between enhanced cognitive behavioural therapy and a phenomenological model of eating disorders. Eat Weight Disord 2021; 26:2513-2522. [PMID: 33534077 PMCID: PMC7856332 DOI: 10.1007/s40519-021-01118-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/03/2020] [Accepted: 01/15/2021] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
PURPOSE Recent studies demonstrated that the embodiment disorder represents a core feature of eating disorders (EDs). The aim of this study was to evaluate the role of its variation as a possible mediator of the efficacy of enhanced cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT-E) on classic ED symptomatology, including body uneasiness. METHODS 73 patients with anorexia nervosa and 68 with bulimia nervosa were treated with a multidisciplinary approach including CBT-E. Psychometric questionnaires were administered at baseline (T0) and after one (T1) and 2 years (T2) to evaluate general and ED-specific psychopathology, body uneasiness and the embodiment disorder. Data regarding diagnostic crossover and remission were also collected. RESULTS Longitudinal analysis showed an improvement of all psychopathological dimensions at T1, which remained stable at T2 (p < 0.05). Remission rate at T2 was 44.7%, and diagnostic crossover occurred in 17.0% of patients. Higher levels of embodiment disorder predicted increased diagnostic instability (OR: 1.80 [1.01-3.20], p = 0.045). The amelioration of the embodiment disorder mediated the decrease in both ED-specific psychopathology (indirect effect: 0.67 [0.46-0.92]) and body uneasiness (indirect effect: 0.43 [0.28-0.59]). CONCLUSION For the first time, these findings highlighted the role of the embodiment disorder as a maintaining factor of ED symptomatology, supporting the importance of integrating CBT-E with a phenomenological model of EDs. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE Level IV, longitudinal observational study (case series).
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Affiliation(s)
- Eleonora Rossi
- Psychiatry Unit, Department of Health Sciences, University of Florence, Florence, Italy
| | - Giovanni Castellini
- Psychiatry Unit, Department of Health Sciences, University of Florence, Florence, Italy.
| | - Emanuele Cassioli
- Psychiatry Unit, Department of Health Sciences, University of Florence, Florence, Italy
| | - Carolina Sensi
- Psychiatry Unit, Department of Health Sciences, University of Florence, Florence, Italy
| | - Milena Mancini
- Department of Psychological, Health and Territorial Sciences, G. D'Annunzio University, Chieti, Italy
| | - Giovanni Stanghellini
- Department of Psychological, Health and Territorial Sciences, G. D'Annunzio University, Chieti, Italy
| | - Valdo Ricca
- Psychiatry Unit, Department of Health Sciences, University of Florence, Florence, Italy
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12
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Mancini M, Esposito CM. Lived body and the Other's gaze: a phenomenological perspective on feeding and eating disorders. Eat Weight Disord 2021; 26:2523-2529. [PMID: 33544360 PMCID: PMC8602135 DOI: 10.1007/s40519-020-01103-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/13/2020] [Accepted: 12/29/2020] [Indexed: 11/28/2022] Open
Abstract
According to the phenomenological perspective, the lived body disorder is a core feature of feeding and eating disorders (FEDs). Persons with FEDs experience their own body first of all as an object looked by another person, rather than coenaesthetically or from a first-person perspective. In particular, the main features of this disorder are: alienation from the own body and from the own emotions, disgust for it, shame, and an exaggerated preoccupation for the way in which one appears to the others. Phenomenological research has recently highlighted that the gaze of the Other plays an important role. Because persons with FEDs cannot have an experience of their own body from within or coenesthetically, they need to apprehend their own body from outside through the gaze of the Other. This way of apprehending one's own body when it is looked by another person is called by Sartre the 'lived body-for-others'. Normally, the constitution of one's own body, and consequently of one's own Self and identity depends on the dialectic integration between the first-person apprehension of one's body (lived body) that it is based on coenaesthesia, and the third-person one, that it is based on the sense of sight (lived-body-for-others). When the dialectic is unbalanced toward the pole of the lived-body-for-others, experienced from without, the symptom occurs. Starting from these clinical observations, the so-called Optical-Coenaesthetic Disproportion model has been developed. In this paper, we describe this model, its philosophical and clinical foundations, and finally its clinical implication and its relationship with other disciplines, i.e., neurosciences. Level of evidence: V.
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Affiliation(s)
- Milena Mancini
- Department of Psychological, Humanistic and Territorial Sciences, University "G. D'Annunzio", Via Dei Vestini 31, 66013, Chieti, IT, Italy.
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Monteleone P. Eating Disorders in the Era of the COVID-19 Pandemic: What Have We Learned? INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH AND PUBLIC HEALTH 2021; 18:ijerph182312381. [PMID: 34886107 PMCID: PMC8657195 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph182312381] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/15/2021] [Accepted: 11/23/2021] [Indexed: 01/23/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Palmiero Monteleone
- Department of Medicine, Surgery and Dentistry "Scuola Medica Salernitana", University of Salerno, 84081 Baronissi, Italy
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14
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Han H, Yi B, Zhong R, Wang M, Zhang S, Ma J, Yin Y, Yin J, Chen L, Zhang H. From gut microbiota to host appetite: gut microbiota-derived metabolites as key regulators. MICROBIOME 2021; 9:162. [PMID: 34284827 PMCID: PMC8293578 DOI: 10.1186/s40168-021-01093-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 104] [Impact Index Per Article: 34.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/08/2021] [Accepted: 05/11/2021] [Indexed: 05/25/2023]
Abstract
Feelings of hunger and satiety are the key determinants for maintaining the life of humans and animals. Disturbed appetite control may disrupt the metabolic health of the host and cause various metabolic disorders. A variety of factors have been implicated in appetite control, including gut microbiota, which develop the intricate interactions to manipulate the metabolic requirements and hedonic feelings. Gut microbial metabolites and components act as appetite-related signaling molecules to regulate appetite-related hormone secretion and the immune system, or act directly on hypothalamic neurons. Herein, we summarize the effects of gut microbiota on host appetite and consider the potential molecular mechanisms. Furthermore, we propose that the manipulation of gut microbiota represents a clinical therapeutic potential for lessening the development and consequence of appetite-related disorders. Video abstract.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hui Han
- State Key Laboratory of Animal Nutrition, Institute of Animal Science, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, 100193, China
- Precision Livestock and Nutrition Unit, Gembloux Agro-Bio Tech, University of Liège, Passage de Déportés 2, 5030, Gembloux, Belgium
| | - Bao Yi
- State Key Laboratory of Animal Nutrition, Institute of Animal Science, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, 100193, China
| | - Ruqing Zhong
- State Key Laboratory of Animal Nutrition, Institute of Animal Science, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, 100193, China
| | - Mengyu Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Animal Nutrition, Institute of Animal Science, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, 100193, China
| | - Shunfen Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Animal Nutrition, Institute of Animal Science, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, 100193, China
| | - Jie Ma
- College of Animal Science and Technology, Hunan Agricultural University, Changsha, 410128, China
| | - Yulong Yin
- College of Animal Science and Technology, Hunan Agricultural University, Changsha, 410128, China
- Key Laboratory of Agro-Ecological Processes in Subtropical Region, Institute of Subtropical Agriculture, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changsha, Hunan, 410125, China
| | - Jie Yin
- College of Animal Science and Technology, Hunan Agricultural University, Changsha, 410128, China.
| | - Liang Chen
- State Key Laboratory of Animal Nutrition, Institute of Animal Science, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, 100193, China.
| | - Hongfu Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Animal Nutrition, Institute of Animal Science, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, 100193, China.
- College of Animal Science and Technology, Hunan Agricultural University, Changsha, 410128, China.
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Monteleone AM, Cascino G, Barone E, Carfagno M, Monteleone P. COVID-19 Pandemic and Eating Disorders: What Can We Learn About Psychopathology and Treatment? A Systematic Review. Curr Psychiatry Rep 2021; 23:83. [PMID: 34674064 PMCID: PMC8528944 DOI: 10.1007/s11920-021-01294-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 09/09/2021] [Indexed: 12/26/2022]
Abstract
PURPOSE OF REVIEW This systematic review aims to collect evidence regarding the impact of the SarsCov-2 pandemic on people affected by eating disorders (EDs) targeting the following variables: psychopathology changes, mechanisms of vulnerability or resilience, and perception of treatment modifications during the pandemic. RECENT FINDINGS Since the beginning of the pandemic, a mental health deterioration has been detected in the general population and especially in people affected by pre-existing psychiatric conditions. Furthermore, mental healthcare has moved toward online treatment. ED people showed a trend toward worsening of ED-specific psychopathology and impairment in general psychopathology. The most common vulnerability mechanisms were social isolation and feelings of uncertainty, while heightened self-care and reduced social pressure were resilience factors. The online treatment, although raising many concerns related to its quality, was considered the best alternative to the face-to-face approach. These findings may support the idea that stressful events contribute to the exacerbation of ED psychopathology and highlight the relevance of internalizing symptoms in EDs. The identification of putative risk and resilience variables as well as of subjective factors affecting online treatment perception may inform healthcare professionals and may promote more personalized approaches.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Giammarco Cascino
- grid.11780.3f0000 0004 1937 0335Department of Medicine, Surgery and Dentistry ‘Scuola Medica Salernitana,’ Section of Neurosciences, University of Salerno, Salerno, Italy
| | - Eugenia Barone
- grid.9841.40000 0001 2200 8888Department of Psychiatry, University of Campania “Luigi Vanvitelli,”, Naples, Italy
| | - Marco Carfagno
- grid.9841.40000 0001 2200 8888Department of Psychiatry, University of Campania “Luigi Vanvitelli,”, Naples, Italy
| | - Palmiero Monteleone
- grid.11780.3f0000 0004 1937 0335Department of Medicine, Surgery and Dentistry ‘Scuola Medica Salernitana,’ Section of Neurosciences, University of Salerno, Salerno, Italy
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16
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Esposito CM, Stanghellini G. The Pathogenic and Therapeutic Potential of the Gaze of the Other in the Clinic of "Eating Disorders". Psychopathology 2020; 53:291-297. [PMID: 32882702 DOI: 10.1159/000509625] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/15/2020] [Accepted: 06/22/2020] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
Building on the optical-coenaesthetic disproportion model of so-called eating disorders, this paper provides a framework for the psychotherapy of people affected by these conditions. This model characterizes "eating disorders" as disorders of embodiment and identity, where a sense of unfamiliarity with one's own flesh, experienced as shifting and incomprehensible, leads to an impairment in the constitution of the Self and thus of one's own identity. Since there is a deficit of the coenaesthetic experience of the embodied Self, greater importance is assumed by body perception conveyed from without. To these persons, their corporeality is principally given as a body-object "to be seen" from a third-person perspective, rather than as a body-subject "to be felt" from a first-person perspective. The Other's look serves as an optical prosthesis to cope with dis-coenaesthesia and as a device through which these persons can define themselves. They are unable to accept the hiatus between "being a body" and "having a body," constitutively present in every human being, forcibly trying to recouple it, and finally ending up objectifying themselves to succeed. The external foundation of the Self thus takes the form of a constriction one can never be completely free of. Psychotherapy should thus accompany persons affected by eating disorders in their encounter with the miscarried dialectic between feeling oneself from within and seeing oneself from without through the gaze of the Other, so keenly feared by people desperately in search of self-control. Tactfully, the clinician accompanies the patient in taking a stance towards her symptom as the outcome of this miscarried dialectics, which is one premise for overcoming it. The clinician's gaze becomes the herald of recognition, allowing the patient to feel accepted in terms of her individuality. Feeling themselves touched by a gaze that waives its alienating potential in order to signify acceptance reactivates the identity-forming dialectics. Their body is thus revealed as the receiver of gazes, but also rediscovers its own possibility for self-determination starting out from these gazes. This intersubjective resonance between the clinician's gaze and the patient reactivates the identity-making dialectics between body-subject and body-object, creating the relational premises for overcoming the symptom.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cecilia Maria Esposito
- Department of Neurosciences and Mental Health, Fondazione IRCCS Ca' Granda Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico, Milan, Italy,
| | - Giovanni Stanghellini
- Department of Psychological, Health and Territorial Sciences, G. d'Annunzio University, Chieti, Italy.,Diego Portales University, Santiago, Chile
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17
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Stanghellini G, Leoni F. Digital Phenotyping: Ethical Issues, Opportunities, and Threats. Front Psychiatry 2020; 11:473. [PMID: 32536882 PMCID: PMC7267063 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2020.00473] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/19/2020] [Accepted: 05/08/2020] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
This paper explores the potential threats of digital phenotyping and the ways it may redesign our body experience and conceptualization. We argue that technology in digital medicine, and in psychiatry in particular, is not merely an extrinsic device to achieve improvements in knowledge, diagnosis, and treatment of diseases; rather, it intrinsically and unavoidably implies potential effects on what it is to be a human person, namely the embodiment and relatedness in human affairs, and not only in the clinical setting. Last but not least, digital phenotyping may improve prediction of abnormal behaviour, but not improve its causal explanation or psychological understanding.
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Affiliation(s)
- Giovanni Stanghellini
- Department of Psychological, Territorial and Health Sciences, "G. d'Annunzio" University, Chieti, Italy.,Center for Studies on Phenomenology and Psychiatry Medical Faculty, "D. Portales" University, Santiago, Chile
| | - Federico Leoni
- Department of Human Sciences, Verona University, Verona, Italy
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Stanghellini G, Ballerini M, Mancini M. The Optical-Coenaesthetic Disproportion Hypothesis of Feeding and Eating Disorders in the Light of Neuroscience. Front Psychiatry 2019; 10:630. [PMID: 31607958 PMCID: PMC6755335 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2019.00630] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/24/2019] [Accepted: 08/05/2019] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
This article builds on and extends the 'optical-coenaesthetic disproportion' (OCDisp) hypothesis of feeding and eating disorders (FEDs) matching data obtained through clinical research with laboratory evidence from neuroscience and neuropsychological studies. The OCDisp hypothesis, developed through the assessment in clinical setting of bodily experience using the IDentity and EAting (IDEA) disorder questionnaire, argues that in persons with FED the internal perception of one's embodied self (i.e., coenaesthesia) is deeply affected (their possibility to feel themselves is weakened or threatened by coenaesthopathic and emotional paroxysms; their bodily feelings are discontinuous over time), and as a compensation to it, these persons experience their own body as an object that is looked at by others. To FED persons, their body is principally given to them as an object 'to be seen.' The other's look serves as an optical prosthesis to cope with hypo- and dis-coenaesthesia and as a device through which persons with FED can define themselves and attenuate the anxiety produced by the conflicts between being-oneself and being-for-others. After describing the OCDisp hypothesis, we will gather evidence supporting it with neuroscience studies on FED. Our focus will be on data pointing to dampened multisensory integration of interoceptive and esteroceptive signals, demonstrating a predominance of the visual afferents toward signals arising within the body. In the final part of the article, we will show consistencies but also draw distinctions between our clinical hypothesis and neuroscience-based data and hypotheses and draft a potential agenda for translational research inspired by these.
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Affiliation(s)
- Giovanni Stanghellini
- Department of Psychological Sciences, Health, Territory, G. d'Annunzio University of Chieti and Pescara, Chieti, Italy.,Centro de estudios de fenomenología y psiquiatría - Diego Portales' University, Santiago, Chile
| | | | - Milena Mancini
- Department of Psychological Sciences, Health, Territory, G. d'Annunzio University of Chieti and Pescara, Chieti, Italy
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