Archetypes are unconscious patterns of behavior that are universal. Archetypes can be found in most popular movies and books. Examples of these include the hero or heroine, the seeker, the orphan, the mother, the child and more. The Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung wrote extensively on archetypes and their use in understanding the human psyche. He believed that archetypes are models of people, behaviors or personalities. Caroline Myss has written extensively on this subject more recently. Archetypes can in some ways be seen as "roles" we plan in our lives. Often there is a lesson that we can learn from the archetypes that are present in our own lives.
For individuals with eating disorders or those struggling with obesity, archetypes can be seen as a portal into understanding different parts of our selves. For individuals with eating disorders, there is often a split between the self that manifests all of the emotions, personal characteristics, personality traits and behaviors associated with their anorexia, bulimia or binge eating disorder and their authentic self. Beyond these two personas are also many different parts of the self which may be associated with past experiences or be part of their innate personalities. In my work with eating disorder patients, I have often used archetypes to help them understand the multiplicity of parts of their self that need to be integrated in order for the person to truly recover from their eating disorder or to truly overcome a lifelong weight problem. Below are a few of the ways in which I've seen archetypes manifest in those with eating disorders or obesity. (The Archetype is in bold)
- The Orphan - Annie was raised by an alcoholic mother. Her parents divorced when she was five and Annie remembers waking up at night with a fever or from a nightmare calling for her mother only to find her mother passed out on the basement floor from drinking. When she was seven, her mother remarried and her step-father abused her until she was thirteen. In college, she performed well academically but became bulimic and also turned to cocaine and alcohol to self-medicate the feelings of loneliness stemming from being so neglected and abandoned as a child.The Orphan archetype is a survivor and often is very tough and independent but they may also be cynical and fatalistic. This showed up in Annie's life in her difficulty trusting others and her difficulty asking for or receiving help. She also ended up in a series of abusive relationships in her attempt to create a family structure that she never had as a child. Addressing and accepting that she was abandoned (orphaned) as a child and integrating this part of herself into her psyche was key to her recover from bulimia and cocaine addiction.
- The Victim - David at the age of 32 was diagnosed with binge eating disorder. He was over 100 pounds overweight and his problems with his weight threaten his marriage and his health. He blames his problems on other people. "The diet doctor didn't know what he was doing." "My wife doesn't love me for who I am." "No one understands what I'm going through." Initially many of his friends and family members felt sorry for him but now, are starting to grow tired of his many excuses for his life not working for him. The victim archetype in its best use can help alert us to the possibility that we may be victimized. Those who have the role of victim can also victimize others for personal gain. They often feel taken advantage of and it's never their fault. The lesson David needed to embrace from the victim archetype is one of self-empowerment. By learning to be responsible for himself and his actions, his recovery will be stronger. This takes time and lots of self-examination. By learning to handle life's challenges more effectively, he can master his fears of failure and rejection and take a chance on life, love and happiness.
Archetypes can offer valuable insight into issues we are struggling with and can serve to inform us of the lessons we need to learn in order to be masters of our own fate. Understanding the different roles we play in life and both their "good" and shadow functions, we can move from self-discovery to recovery!
