Reconstructing 'recovery': a discourse analysis of women's accounts with a past diagnosis of 'anorexia nervosa'

In this study 10 women were interviewed about their experiences of
'recovery' from a past diagnosis of 'anorexia nervosa'. Participants were
recruited from a local specialist service and each interview lasted
approximately one hour. The interview schedule was semi-structured in
nature covering (i) past experiences of 'anorexia' (ii) participants'
constructions of 'recovery' and meanings attached to it (iii) their views on
what helped or hindered the process of 'recovery' (iv) their views on the
current images of women portrayed in the media. Interviews were audiotape
recorded and transcribed verbatim. Participants were also asked to
write a brief account of their experiences. The resulting transcripts were
then analysed qualitatively using a Foucauldian discourse analytic
methodology in order to identify the ways in which participants discursively
constituted their experiences of 'recovery' and issues related to power and
the wider cultural discourses available. In particular, this study focuses on an
analysis of how the 'recovered' self is construed in participants' accounts
and how this is shaped by the availability of discourses, in contemporary
society, in terms of what it means to be a woman. The implications of
participants' constructions and subject positions are discussed

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