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7 t h E u r o p e a n C o n g r e s s o n
Obesity and
Eating Disorder
Obesity 2018
Journal of Obesity & Eating Disorders
ISSN 2471-8203
A p r i l 1 2 - 1 3 , 2 0 1 8
Am s t e r d a m , N e t h e r l a n d s
Page 47
In an interpersonal context, proximity seeking is often meant
to alleviate stress and be comforted/soothed by a secure
other person. However, for persons with early childhood
stress and trauma-by-primary-caregiver, being comforted
may not be available and high stress remains in the body.
Also, the person becomes vulnerable to the development of
stress-related diseases such as eating disorders, somatic
symptoms disorder, depression, PTSD, etc. The self is not
only a psychological construct but is also an embodied self
from whom the person may be disconnected in different ways
such as somatic self-detachment. Also, chronic heightened
stress disrupts normal meaning-making and cognitive-
emotional information processing, resulting in disorientation,
disorganization, or dissociation among emotional-,
cognitive-, and somatic/bodily domains of functioning such
as dysfunctional self-regulation. Alexithymia, often described
in patients with obesity, can be understood as trauma-related
dissociation of emotional experience and avoidance/denial
Understanding attachment-trauma-related
dysfunctional self-regulation in obesity:
“filling, feeling, healing”
Annemiek van Dijke1,2
1Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Netherlands
2PsyQ Zaandam, Netherlands
J Obes Eat Disord 2018, Volume: 4
DOI: 10.21767/2471-8203-C1-009
of attachment. Research shows that obese patients proved
less able in recognizing and labeling their own emotions.
Alexithymia, dissociation, and depression proved related but
with different symptomatology. Also, obese patients reported
more interpersonal distrust than control subjects. Clinical
experiences and research findings will be presented for
dysfunctional self-regulation and somatic self-detachment in
obesity, and associated mental disorders, e.g. PTSD (complex),
severe dissociative disorders, borderline personality disorder
(BPD) and somatic symptoms disorders. Several techniques
oriented to improve self-regulation and self-care and diminish
self-detachment will be described. Case descriptions and
videos will also be included.