Treatment of eating disorders: voices from a ward

Abstract

Purpose:The purpose of this study is to explore and develop knowledge about treatment experiences of people suffering from severe eating disorders, by highlighting the patient's perspective in treatment. The study's issue is: "How do patients with severe eating disorders experience everyday hospital/in-hospital treatment, and how do they value the impact of their experiences in treatment?" Method: The study takes a qualitative approach, where patients wrote diaries that formed the data. There were 3 participants who wrote diaries twice a day for 2 weeks. In this study, thematic interpretative analysis of narrative data was used. Results and conclusion:The results of this study indicate that several health-related experiences emerged during treatment. The results show that the experiences of in-hospital treatment for severe ED are mostly characterized by experiences that might reduce the participants' sense of meaning. The study suggests new arenas (besides taking control over food/their bodies) for individual patients experienced mastery in their own recovery process.

A systematic review of people’s lived experiences of inpatient treatment for anorexia nervosa: living in a “bubble”

“…For example: I miss just being me, not a patient in need of help and support. [ 45 ], p5] It’s sort of like speaking to him [a doctor] is like bashing your head up against a wall… Because everything you say is part of the disease. No matter what it is… And you’re like: I’m a person.…”

“…Participants’ feelings of being misunderstood by clinical staff appeared to foster a climate of resistance within the inpatient treatment setting [ 39 , 41 , 44 ]: “it makes you not want to cooperate because they don’t really want to understand.” [ 42 ] Conversely, “good staff” [ 43 – 45 ] were described as able to “… see the person behind the anorexia.” [ 38 ], P5] As Grace reflected: They knew about me much more than I knew about myself… things that even I wasn’t aware of, but that they could see from the outside.... It always gave me a good feeling – that I don’t have to talk and they still know.…”