Nina Sayers Case Study

Nina Sayers is known as a timid, fragile childlike Caucasian female in her mid-twenties, currently working as a ballerina for the ambiguous New York Ballet Company. Most of her daily activity consist of improving her abilities as a ballerina. If she is not at the academy practicing she is at home practicing or doing anything to make her reach perfection. She is a talented ballerina with great potential, who strives for perfection in every aspect of her life. Her greatest desire is to become a prima ballerina. Nina currently lives with her mother, Erica Sayers. Her mother is controlling. She controls every part of Nina’s life, from undressing her to cutting her nails. She tries to keep her from the outside world, and when it comes to a father, he is not existent. In regards to her mother, it is understood that Nina has no close friends or social support in her daily life and even at the ballet company. Nina’s physical appearance is also very worrisome. She is visibly underweight and has apparent scratches, bruises and cuts on her body. She also has gruesome wounds on her feet, which probably occur from her rigorous time sent dancing, and the amount of stress and pressure

Anorexia nervosa is characterized by self-starvation and excessive weight loss with several symptoms including severe weight loss, the fear of gaining weight, inadequate food intake and many more. In Nina’s case, the factors that determine her producing anorexia nervosa is most prominently caused by her profession as a ballerina and the stress it puts on you to be perfect. An example of her having the symptoms of anorexia is when given a cake from her mother as a celebratory present, Nina is repulsed by the thought of eating something with that much fat. She also is seen to have a noticeable lose in weight, and is proud of what she has lost. She finds it as an example of reaching ballerina