Abstract
This study aimed to investigate emotional meanings assigned to eating disorders (ED) through the narratives of women affected with these psychopathological conditions. Participants were patients in a Brazilian service specialized in treatment of ED. A semi-structured interview was used for data collection. Recruitment continued until data saturation was reached. The verbatim transcription of interview data was analyzed through thematic content analysis, which was employed by two researchers. Results showed that, after the occurrence of ED, participants began to experience feelings of distress, anxiety, and loneliness, which were related to lowered self-esteem and social isolation. Family dynamics was characterized as confrontational, but in contrast, was considered as participants’ primary social support network. These data underlined that the emotional meanings attributed to ED need to be addressed and explored by health care professionals to gain a detailed understanding of patients’ illness experiences.
Highlights
This study aimed to investigate emotional meanings assigned to eating disorders (ED) through the narratives of women affected with these psychopathological conditions
This study aimed to investigate the meanings assigned to ED through narratives of women affected by these psychopathological conditions, seeking to understand emotional experiences involved in the experience of living with Anorexia nervosa (AN) or bulimia nervosa (BN)
It was evidenced that after the onset of symptoms, participants began to experience intense feelings of distress, anxiety, and loneliness, which were mainly related to lowered self-esteem and social isolation
Summary
This study aimed to investigate emotional meanings assigned to eating disorders (ED) through the narratives of women affected with these psychopathological conditions. Dynamics was characterized as confrontational, but in contrast, was considered as participants’ primary social support network These data underlined that the emotional meanings attributed to ED need to be addressed and explored by health care professionals to gain a detailed understanding of patients’ illness experiences. According to the DSM-V (American Psychiatric Association, 2013), eating disorders (ED) can be characterized as psychopathological conditions that involve serious disturbances in eating behavior and affect mostly teenagers and young women These disorders present a chronic and disabling progress, and can result in biological, psychological, and social damages that cause increased morbidity and mortality. This kind of obsessive thinking leads to a very strict discipline in performing diets, which upon success lead to feelings of control (Rodríguez, Hernández, & Bouly, 2000)
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