Intimacy Anorexia

When defining Intimacy Anorexia, author Douglas Weiss, Ph.D states, “Intimacy Anorexia is the active withholding of emotional, spiritual, and sexual intimacy from the spouse.”

He notes that the word ‘active’ is the most controversial of his description due to its implication that the anorexic is making a choice to withhold from their significant other. If asked whether their partner would want them to be more present and engaged emotionally, spiritually, and sexually, and the betraying partner would answer “yes,” but yet, they are not able or willing to offer it as an option to their coupleship, there is intimacy anorexia.