Anorexia mirabilis, also known as holy anorexia or inedia prodigiosa, or colloquially as fasting girls, is an eating disorder similar to anorexia nervosa that was common, though not restricted to, the Middle Ages in Europe, largely affecting Catholic nuns and religious women. Self-starvation was common among religious women as a way to imitate the suffering of Jesus during the Passion, since women were largely restricted to causing themselves voluntary pain through fasting while religious men experienced suffering through physical punishment.
Facts
Classification
Type of Phenomenon Diagnostic ChapterFeeding or Eating Disorders 1 Connections
In Branch
Source Wikipedia: Anorexia mirabilis
Sources
1. Wikipedia: Anorexia mirabilis
- Wikipedia Anorexia mirabilis lead paragraph: eating disorder similar to anorexia nervosa, self-starvation
- en.wikipedia.org: Anorexia mirabilis
In Branch: Abnormal Psychology, Lead section
Anorexia mirabilis, also known as holy anorexia or inedia prodigiosa or colloquially as fasting girls, is an eating disorder, similar to that of anorexia nervosa, that was common in, but not restricted to, the Middle Ages in Europe, largely affecting Catholic nuns and religious women.
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