Summary of the results

We did our research by interviewing girls and women with anorexia nervosa, so we will use the female gender throughout our descriptions. Males with anorexia nervosa might also have similar experiences.

We started out doing the research with an interest in whether people think people with anorexia nervosa should be treated without their consent. This is what we found:

 

•  Everyone seems to agree that patients suffering from anorexia nervosa should be saved from death. However, there is a lot less agreement about patients who are not at risk of death. To read more about this, click here.

 

•  Anorexia nervosa is felt by all the sufferers to be a burden, even if they might want to hang on to it. To read more about this, click here.

 

•  Anorexia nervosa can be very difficult to give up, because it can be very uncomfortable or feel almost impossible to give up. To read more about this, click here

 

•  Anorexia nervosa can also make it very difficult to decide to have treatment because it can prevent a person from being free to make decisions to get better. To read more about this, click here.

 

•  Relationships are very important in whether a person can feel supported enough to decide to get better or not. Relationships with healthcare professionals can also determine whether people feel helped or not. To read more about this, click here.

 

Some people describe a journey through having anorexia nervosa. We have developed this into a concept of the stages of anorexia nervosa, from beginnings to being ill to being free. To read more about this, click here.