OBJECTIVE: The focus of this article is on the process of recovery from anorexia nervosa, rather than on its etiology. It seeks for sociological, instead of clinical, reasons for recovery. METHOD: The article begins with a discussion of clinical outcome studies. It then reports on a phenomenological study of 32 former sufferers contacted through a newspaper article which included the author's own recovery story. Participants' narratives were analyzed to elucidate the social sources of recovery. RESULTS: The analysis refers to the coherence and mythological structure of the narratives and to their rituals of recovery and its "spiritual" nature, as understood by participants. DISCUSSION: Anorexia and recovery are conceptualized as two phases in an ascetic rite of passage which involves a confrontation with death and an eventual return to fuller community life. Suggestions are offered concerning the ways this insight can be translated into clinical practice.
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Catherine Garrett (1997) studied this question.