Literature Review on the Recovery Process for People with Eating Disorders

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine through a literature review the recovery process of patients with eating disorders. A systematic review of 16 articles on the recovery process in eating disorders was conducted. We extracted information on the research year, subject, research method, and common points in the contents of the articles. Subsequently, articles were categorized according to the process of recovery and the elements in the process of recovery. Discussions in these articles revealed that the recovery of patients with an eating disorder was a process of tracing the time from the diagnosis of the eating disorder or when they could not talk about the eating disorder despite having it to the time when they could about it as a present experience and up to the time when they could talk about it as a past experience. Talking about having an eating disorder as a past experience enables self-acceptance and acceptance by others, which are crucial to the recovery process.