ABSTRACT
Anorexia nervosa (AN) is presently defined by the following: (a) restriction of energy intake leading to a significantly low body weight on the basis of age, sex, development, and physical health; (b) intense fear of gaining weight or becoming fat, or continued behavior interfering with weight gain despite significantly low body weight; and (c) disturbances in the way in which one’s body weight or shape is experienced, excessive influence of body weight or shape on self-evaluation, or continued failure to recognize the seriousness of current low body weight (American Psychiatric Association, 2013). Paralleling this definition, recovery from AN is described and understood in terms of restoring body shape and weight, and changing the cognitions and behaviors surrounding food and eating. Principally, recovery from AN is equated with the remission and ultimately the absence of the symptoms outlined in the DSM-5 (American Psychiatric Association, 2013). By these criteria, recovery from AN represents an exceptionally challenging outcome, with only 46.9% of cases reaching full recovery (Steinhausen, 2002), whereas 20.8%–35% of the AN cases becoming chronic or relapsing (Carter, Blackmore, Sutandar-Pinnock, & Woodside, 2004; Steinhausen, 2002). Moreover, this symptom-focused perspective of recovery does not elucidate the process of recovery itself but focuses exclusively on the symptomatic end result.
