A discourse-analytic study of Internet narratives about recovery from anorexia nervosa

Recovery from anorexia nervosa is often difficult and lengthy, and is characterized by low recovery rates and high relapse rates. Recovery research has been mostly limited to medical aspects of the illness. Given these challenges, gaining insight into an insider's perspective of recovery from anorexia nervosa is important. Consequently, discourse analysis was used to explore the ways in which females write about their recovery experiences in narratives posted on the Internet. Seven main findings were derived from the analysis, including: recovery as difficult to describe; recovery as a surprise to authors; use of the second-person ("you"); recovery as a process or discrete event; recovery as a sudden shift or happening unknowingly; characterizing recovery through metaphors and contrasts; and reporting reasons for recovery. Findings are discussed in terms of authors' use of discursive devices, theoretical premises, and implications for intervention.