Ellen West

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Ellen West (1888–1921) was a patient of Dr. Ludwig Binswanger who had anorexia nervosa. She became a famous example of Daseinsanalysis who died by suicide at age 33 by poisoning herself.

Life

Ellen West

vegetarian in hopes to maintain her thin figure. It wasn't until after three years of marriage, when Ellen was 31 years old and weighing 92 pounds (42 kilograms), that she informed her husband of her severe eating disorder and depression.[4]

Death

Ellen West's life was marred by thoughts related to death anxiety. Towards the end of her life, it could be said that she had a death obsession. West was given a great variety of diagnoses including melancholia, severe obsessive neurosis, and schizophrenia.[citation needed] While her major problem dealt with food, as what started out as a diagnosis of anorexia nervosa morphed into bulimia nervosa with the fear of becoming fat through eating. This fixation caused her great depression, as her focus day in and out was on eating or not eating. This "obsession with death" became "life's only goal" and that the "symbolization of life and death took place around the act of eating." West's fear of becoming fat caused her to welcome death as an acceptable outcome, as then she wouldn't have to worry anymore. She was often quoted by her psychiatrist, Ludwig Binswanger, explaining how her life felt like a prison that could be only made better by dying. To West, her life felt empty and dull, and filling her body with food only made her feel worse. Filling herself with food actually made her feel empty. It was even suggested that suicide by starvation became her life's purpose, whereas continuing to feed herself would be equal to committing murder on someone.[5] This underlying issue of death obsession can be exemplified by other harmful behaviors that she engaged in. West reportedly did several dangerous things to invite illness and death, including riding horse dangerously, kissing children with scarlet fever, and standing outside naked after bathing. Her eventual death came after taking a lethal dose of poison, having spent a full day eating to satisfaction, reading poetry and writing.[5][6] West's psychiatrist Binswanger was quoted as saying, "She looked as she had never looked in life - calm and happy and peaceful." He thought of her illness as a defense against anxieties which were heightened and overbalanced, but anxieties nonetheless.[5]

Existential psychology and humanistic psychology

humanistic psychologist who already in 1961 wrote a book in which dealt with Ellen West's case,[9] felt upset that she was regarded as an object by Binswanger and suggested that she would be better if treated with client-centered therapy.[10] Rogers also thought that her history was not pathological and she was an active girl.[10] After breaking off her engagement because of disagreement with her parents, Ellen West experienced the estrangement of man from herself.[10] It led her to lose a sense of belief about her experiences.[10] To fit herself to other people's opinion, she lost weight and developed a dread of gaining weight.[10] Binswanger diagnosed her with schizophrenia and he was pessimistic about her condition, fearing she would die by suicide after leaving the clinic; Rogers thought that this kind of thought made Ellen think herself disordered.[10] Rogers suggested that if she opened her mind to her own experiences and accepted them, she could communicate with herself and it would lead her to developing better relationships with others.[10]

In popular culture

Ellen West's life influenced poet Frank Bidart to write a Persona poem entitled "Ellen West."[11] Decades later, Bidart also wrote a follow-up poem entitled "Writing 'Ellen West,'" which, in contrast to the first poem, speaks directly on the poet's experiences with West's story and its impact on him.[12]

The composer Ricky Ian Gordon composed an opera based on the Bidart poem. It was first staged at Opera Saratoga in 2019.

Alternative rock band Throwing Muses recorded a song called "Ellen West" on their 1991 album The Real Ramona.

Ellen West is mentioned in "What I Loved: A Novel" by Siri Hustvedt as a case study in a book about eating disorders published by Violet, a character in the novel.

The Italian poet Simone Consorti dedicated to Ellen West his homonymous short poem "Ellen".

See also

References

  1. ^ Her name was invented by Binswanger, who probably took it from the character Rebecca West in Rosmersholm by Henrik Ibsen.
  2. ^ a b c The Enigma Ellen West (2010). McGill University. http://www.slideshare.net/PhiloShrink/the-enigma-ellen-west-mcgill-university-151210
  3. ^ In November 1920 she wrote: "Day and night I am haunted by the same thought. Always in different forms, but always present. Yes, like the murderer is haunted by the victim's image. Whether I am hungry or satiated, whether I am resting or I am working, the thinking of food is always before me. It sucks my marrow and makes my existence unbearable".
  4. ^ a b Dr. C. George Boeree. Ludwig Binswanger (2006) http://webspace.ship.edu/cgboer/binswanger.html
  5. ^ a b c Jackson, C., Davidson, G., Russell, J., & Vandereycken, W. (1990). Ellen West Revisited: The Theme of Death in Eating Disorders. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 9(5), 529-536.
  6. ^ Ellen West - Eating Disorders
  7. ^
    ISBN 1-57230-186-4
    .
  8. ISBN 978-0671203146
    .
  9. ISBN 9781845290573
    .
  10. ^
    ISBN 0-395-29915-2
    .
  11. ^ Bidart, Frank. "Ellen West." Accessible at http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/177900
  12. ^ Doreski, William (October 22, 2013). "Metaphysical Dog". Harvard Review. Retrieved July 21, 2019.

External links

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