The patient's account of relapse and recovery in anorexia nervosa: a qualitative study

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to explore the subjective accounts of weight-recovered female patients, who met DSMIV criteria for anorexia nervosa (AN), regarding their views of their illness following weight restoration. METHOD: Qualitative semi-structured interviews were administered to 15 participants to ascertain their perspective of the factors that either contributed to their maintaining a healthy weight, or the factors involved in their having relapsed over the follow-up period. RESULTS: Qualitative analyses revealed six core categories: internal motivation to change, recovery as a work in progress, the perceived value of the treatment experience, developing supportive relationships, awareness and tolerance of negative emotion and self-validation. DISCUSSION: This study provides valuable information about the way in which AN patients experience their illness and highlight the factors that help or hinder recovery. These findings may help enhance relapse prevention programs and potentially enhance our ability to identify and target those individuals at the greatest risk of relapsing.