55 Anorexia Nervosa
Name: Giselle Vasco
Source: Skinny by Ibi Kaslik (book, 2004)
Background Information
Giselle Vasco is a twenty-one year old, Caucasian female of Hungarian decent. She was the first born of two daughters after her parents, Thomas and Vesla, immigrated to the United States in the early 1970’s to escape the communist repression of their country. Giselle’s younger sister Holly is eight years behind her in age but, much like her sister, has a very grounded and intellectual personality. They both stand approximately five feet, eleven inches tall and have a very close relationship. Giselle and Holly are both considered accomplished in their own rights, even at young ages with Giselle enrolled in medical school and Holly being acknowledged as a “stand-out athlete” at her high school. At the present time, Giselle is home from medical school, taking a leave of absence to clear her mind and regroup her life. She is working at a hospital in the mental health ward as a companion to many patients. It is described that, after her first love had left, Giselle became a callous lover who would frequently sleep around – trusting nobody with her heart. This stayed a constant until she met her current boyfriend, Solomon (Sol), who desperately loves Giselle.
Both sisters however, are plagued by the fact that their father had recently passed away due to a heart attack. In the midst of this tragic loss, both sisters struggle in the grieving and coping processes respectively. Giselle and her father always had a rocky relationship that stemmed from a time before she was even born. Thomas questioned the faithfulness of his wife in the frequent suggestions that Giselle may not be his biological daughter. This was an obstacle that was battled through from Giselle’s birth up until her father’s death-and even after. The relationship between the girls and their mother, however, seems to be solid.
Giselle acknowledges that when she was her sister’s age (approximately 14) one of her primary focuses was to discover ways to “be smaller.” It is presumed that Giselle, and the entire Vasco family for that matter, were a religious group. At one point, Giselle asks for God’s forgiveness after lying to her mother about her weight at the time. Giselle also acknowledges that she would masturbate in upwards of six times a day and would drink only lemon water. In lieu of her desire to “be smaller,” Vesla would frequently take Giselle to see the doctor regarding her weight, often against her wishes. There is no mention of a history of drug or alcohol use by Giselle.
Description of the Problem
As mentioned earlier, while in high school, Giselle’s mother would constantly bring her to the doctor to check up on her weight. Giselle would do things like put rocks or weights in her pockets to tip the scale at 120 pounds, as opposed to the 95 that she weighed. Her lack of a proper diet surrounds her potential diagnoses. Holly describes her sister’s systematical approach to the din