Lorand's patient, who suffered from severe anorexia nervosa, felt herself to be an unwanted child. Her feeling of not belonging caused disturbances

in the development of her superego and ego. Her superego was extremely severe and consequently her ego identifications became difficult, which resulted in a weak ego structure. Puberty was characterized by vivid and painful revivals of infantile experiences with mother and father. Although anorexia itself should be classified as a conversion symptom, it is as a rule connected with rather serious depressions and thus becomes the expression of an intense wish to die. Food implies instinctual gratification, thought of in terms of early fantasies of impregnation. The denial of adulthood is due to the patient's constant preoccupation with the conflicts surrounding food.