Recovery as a process: Exploring definitions of recovery in the context of eating‐disorder‐related social media forums

Bohrer, Brittany K.; Foye, Una; Jewell, Tom

doi:10.1002/eat.23218

Cited by 38 publications

(51 citation statements)

References 18 publications

(14 reference statements)

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“…Being able to define a point of recovery is important for researchers examining the effectiveness of treatment approaches for anorexia nervosa (AN), whilst clinically, creating a standardized recovery point would allow a person to have clear aims and support clinical practitioners to consider the process of recovery across patients. Definitions of recovery remain heavily focused on the absence of symptoms and physical aspects of EDs (Bardone‐Cone, Hunt, & Watson, 2018 ; Khalsa, Portnoff, McCurdy‐McKinnon, & Feusner, 2017 ), but studies with people with lived experiences of EDs highlight the critical role of psychological aspects of recovery, such as quality of life, and conceptualize recovery as a process rather than a state (Bohrer, Foye, & Jewell, 2020 ; Dawson, Rhodes, & Touyz, 2014 ; Kenny, Boyle, & Lewis, 2019 ; Stockford, Stenfert Kroese, Beesley, & Leung, 2019 ; Wade & Lock, 2019 ; Whitley & Drake, 2010 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Service user and eating disorder therapist views on anorexia nervosa recovery criteria

et al. 2021

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Objectives Recovery from anorexia nervosa (AN) is difficult to define, and efforts to establish recovery criteria have led to several versions being proposed. Using the perspectives of people with histories of AN and therapists working in the field, we sought to explore the face validity of Khalsa et al (2017) as one of the most recent examples of proposed systematic recovery criteria. Design We interviewed 11 health service users (SUs) with histories of AN who had previously received treatment alongside 8 eating disorder therapists (EDTs), exploring their views on the proposed AN recovery criteria. Methods Data from verbal and written interviews were analysed thematically. Separate thematic analyses of SU and EDT interviews highlighted where concerns converged and diverged across participants. Results Both groups saw some merits of having universally recognized recovery criteria, and the multidimensional approach was welcomed, but EDTs were uncomfortable with considering their use in therapy and SUs felt key components were missing around emotional coping and life quality. SUs disliked the prominence of body mass index (BMI) in the criteria, and all struggled with the proposed duration for recovery. Conceptually, the notion of recovery as an endpoint rather than a journey was contested. Conclusions Our findings indicate disparities between academically derived recovery criteria and lived experiences and indicate perceived challenges in using such criteria in therapeutic settings. Including SUs and EDTs in the development of criteria may improve the likelihood of consolidating AN recovery criteria, but conceptual challenges remain. Practitioner points AN recovery is complex, and the use of research‐based AN recovery criteria in therapeutic settings could have a detrimental effect on SUs’ outcomes. EDTs should be aware of efforts to define AN recovery criteria. EDTs should engage with debates on defining AN recovery and seek to promote participation in such debates to SUs.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Service user and eating disorder therapist views on anorexia nervosa recovery criteria

et al. 2021

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“…Although the Reddit platform does not necessarily represent either the general, or the whole drug enthusiasts’ population, it still appears as a large open web information source in terms of the number of posts and active users; variety of topics being discussed; and real-time discussion of trends. Hence, Reddit has been used for a range of research purposes, including both general psychiatry [ 21 , 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 , 28 ] and addiction/drug abuse [ 29 , 30 , 31 , 32 , 33 , 34 ]. Indeed, the social networks’ web monitoring approach has been suggested to be helpful to better understand some clinical and psychopharmacological issues related to a range of novel psychoactive substances (NPS) [ 35 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

COVID-19 Pandemic Impact on Substance Misuse: A Social Media Listening, Mixed Method Analysis

et al. 2021

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The restrictive measures adopted during the COVID-19 pandemic modified some previously consolidated drug use patterns. A focus on social networks allowed drug users to discuss, share opinions and provide advice during a worldwide emergency context. In order to explore COVID-19-related implications on drug trends/behaviour and on most popular psychotropic substances debated, the focus here was on the constantly updated, very popular, Reddit social platform’s posts and comments. A quantitative and qualitative analysis of r/Drugs and related subreddits, using a social media listening netnographic approach, was carried out. The post/comments analysed covered the time-frame December 2019–May 2020. Between December 2019 and May 2020, the number of whole r/Drugs subreddit members increased from 619,563 to 676,581 members, respectively, thus increasing by 9.2% by the end of the data collection. Both the top-level r/Drugs subreddit and 92 related subreddits were quantitatively analysed, with posts/comments related to 12 drug categories. The drugs most frequently commented on included cannabinoids, psychedelics, opiates/opioids, alcohol, stimulants and prescribed medications. The qualitative analysis was carried out focussing on four subreddits, relating to some 1685 posts and 3263 comments. Four main themes of discussion (e.g., lockdown-associated immunity and drug intake issues; drug-related behaviour/after-quarantine plans’ issues; lockdown-related psychopathological issues; and peer-to-peer advice at the time of COVID-19) and four categories of Redditors (e.g., those continuing the use of drugs despite the pandemic; the “couch epidemiologists”; the conspirationists/pseudo-science influencers; and the recovery-focused users) were tentatively identified here. A mixed-methods, social network-based analysis provided a range of valuable information on Redditors’ drug use/behaviour during the first phase of the COVID-19 pandemic. Further studies should be carried out focusing on other social networks as well as later phases of the pandemic.

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“…In order to experience improvement, it seems the person has to develop ways to truly distance oneself from the eating disorder, both by actively taking charge of the recovery process (i.e., striving for a different ideal), and ultimately attaining a different identity in order to become fully recovered [9,10,13,17]. Overall, qualitative findings shed light on the complex interplay between individual, relational and contextual factors when the journey toward recovery is perceived from the patients' perspectives [4,[18][19][20][21]. Research investigating patient perspectives on recovery from the perspective of the young patient, literature is more limited [22].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 92%

“…Not just decide in advance that; "that's not for me", "that I don't dare", "that I don't want". It's all about being bold enough to do the changes [Jane,21] Subtheme 2: Connect with your future self: be future and goal-oriented (N = 17)…”

Section: Professional Relationships Matter (N = 12)mentioning

confidence: 99%

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External support and personal agency - young persons’ reports on recovery after family-based inpatient treatment for anorexia nervosa: a qualitative descriptive study

et al. 2020

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Background: Recommended treatment for adolescent anorexia nervosa (AN) is usually family-based and an overarching treatment aim is to empower the parents to manage the difficult meals and aid their child toward recovery. While family-based treatment prioritize collaborating with the parents, understanding the young persons' views on recovery is also important. Understanding the young person's views and ideas is relevant as this may facilitate the therapeutic alliance and thus aid the therapeutic process. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the reflections of young persons with a lived experience of anorexia nervosa, and what factors they consider important for the recovery process. All participants had been provided with a family-based inpatient treatment program, a program inspired by the core features of outpatient family-based treatment. Methods: Participants (n = 37) presented with an extensive treatment history, including outpatient and inpatient treatment for AN. Interview transcripts were analyzed by applying a predominantly inductive thematic approach to generate themes across participants. Results: The qualitative analysis generated a thematic structure entailing three levels. The superordinate theme, "Recovery is a long and winding journey: recognizing the need for support and highlighting the need for action", captured three main themes, "Realizing you have a problem", "Being involved in important relationships", and "Giving treatment a real chance". Conclusions: Our results demonstrated that although young persons with a lived experience of anorexia nervosa recognized the importance of support from others, they placed a distinctive emphasis on self-responsibility and determination. We recommend clinicians working within the recommended family-based treatment frameworks be curious about young patient's subjective perspectives of the recovery process, as connecting with their views can potentially strengthen therapeutic relationships and facilitate change.

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Recovery as a process: Exploring definitions of recovery in the context of eating‐disorder‐related social media forums

Cited by 38 publications

References 18 publications

Service user and eating disorder therapist views on anorexia nervosa recovery criteria

Service user and eating disorder therapist views on anorexia nervosa recovery criteria

COVID-19 Pandemic Impact on Substance Misuse: A Social Media Listening, Mixed Method Analysis

External support and personal agency - young persons’ reports on recovery after family-based inpatient treatment for anorexia nervosa: a qualitative descriptive study

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