Department of Health Services and Population Research, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK.
Section of Eating Disorders, Department of Psychological Medicine, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK.
Eur Eat Disord Rev. 2024 Jan;32(1):46-55. doi: 10.1002/erv.3018. Epub 2023 Aug 9.
High eating disorder (ED) relapse rates stress the need for clearer understanding around how recovery is experienced and maintained. Recent research endorses the concept of recovery as a process rather than an endpoint. This study aimed to investigate daily experiences of living in recovery from an ED.
Fourteen participants who self-identified as recovered from a formally diagnosed ED were recruited online. A qualitative diary app was used for data collection. Participants completed written or audio open-ended diary entries every other day for 2 weeks describing their experiences, thoughts, and feelings. Diaries were analysed using reflexive thematic analysis.
Four themes were developed. 'Ever-present eating disordered thoughts' highlights how pervasive these thoughts remain for participants. 'Impact of social discourses' unpacks the challenges of maintaining recovery while surrounded by unhelpful social discourses about food and body image. 'Recovery is precarious' highlights how a combination of stressors can build up to threaten recovery. 'Finding balance in recovery' illustrates the many ways participants try to manage their recovery each day.
The findings make it clear that living in recovery from an ED is a complex process that must be navigated daily. Recommendations for treatment and recovery support are discussed.
高饮食失调（ED）复发率强调需要更清楚地了解恢复是如何经历和维持的。最近的研究认可恢复是一个过程而不是终点的概念。本研究旨在调查从 ED 中恢复的日常生活体验。
通过在线招募，确定了 14 名自我认同从正式诊断的 ED 中恢复的参与者。使用定性日记应用程序进行数据收集。参与者每两天完成一次书面或音频的开放式日记条目，描述他们的经历、想法和感受。使用反思性主题分析对日记进行分析。
提出了四个主题。“持续存在的饮食障碍思想”强调了这些思想对参与者的影响是多么深远。“社会话语的影响”揭示了在围绕着关于食物和身体形象的无益的社会话语的情况下，维持恢复所面临的挑战。“恢复是不稳定的”强调了压力源的组合如何可能积累起来威胁到恢复。“在恢复中找到平衡”说明了参与者每天尝试管理恢复的多种方式。
研究结果清楚地表明，从 ED 中恢复是一个复杂的过程，必须每天进行管理。讨论了对治疗和恢复支持的建议。
