Exploring the narratives of people with lived experiences of eating-related distress and their stories of recovery : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Clinical Psychology, Massey University, Auckland, Aotearoa, New Zealand
Loading...
Files
Date
2023
DOI
Open Access Location
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Massey University
Rights
The Author
Abstract
A significant portion of the eating disorder literature prioritises a clinical perspective informed by diagnostic classification and clinical markers of recovery. Yet, research into the perspectives of people’s lived experiences provides very different accounts of eating-related distress and personal recovery. The personal recovery model privileges lived experiences, where symptom remission is not necessary to recover/y, but instead “recovery in” as opposed to “recovery from” is better aligned. Broad qualitative analyses cite factors in alignment with the recovery model; however, these studies often abstract from the daily, lived recoveries. In this study, I examined the narratives of recovery among 15 adults with lived experiences of eating-related distress. Specifically, those who self-identified challenges related to food, weight, body shape, and/or exercise, and identified as doing better currently relative to one’s own past experiences. A day in the life questioning approach allowed for a micro-contextualised view of recovery, exploring what it means to be “in” or “enacting” recovery across daily practices. A narrative analysis was conducted which attuned to complex social, cultural, and relational contexts, grounded within a social constructivist epistemological approach. Narratives included: Re-Appraising Body, Image and Identity, Neutrality and Nourishment, Routine and Structure, and Media and #Recovery. Participants formed intentional daily practices in recovery, largely described as an active process requiring continued re-appraisal. Daily practices centered around energy, function, pleasure, accomplishment, comfort, control, self-development, visibility, and routine. Participants described alignment, resistance, and opposition to master narratives and sociocultural prescriptions on recovery, offering a counter narrative to the clinician and researcher recovery perspectives that have traditionally dominated the literature and guided service provision to date. Overall, these multi-layered narratives align with critical feminist perspectives and may importantly inform evidence-based practice from the “inside out”.
Description
Keywords
Eating disorders, Treatment, Patients, Rehabilitation, Body image, Psychological aspects, clinical psychology, psychology, recovery, personal recovery, narrative