Source: French to English Tester Published on: 2026-05-05
Source: The Conversation – France in French (3)– By Catherine Houlihan, Senior Lecturer in Clinical Psychology, University of the Sunshine Coast
In the matter of eating disorders, to define what recovery is, the focus is generally on the presence or absence of clinical symptoms. But this criterion is not the most important one for the people concerned.
Theeating behavior disorders(ED) are not merely physical conditions. They are complex psychiatric disorders that profoundly disrupt individuals’ relationships with themselves, with their bodies, and with others.
Recovering from an eating disorder is a long and complex process. Thecaresuch conditions targetgenerally reduce dysfunctional thoughts and behaviorswho themcharacterize, whether it involves engaging in extreme weight-loss diets, experiencing binge-eating episodes (the urge to eat a lot and quickly), purgative behaviors, a negative body image, or, in some cases, having a very low weight.
However, considering that recovery is only achieved when clinical symptoms have been controlled (allowing, for example, a return to a weight considered “healthy”) can lead to neglecting certainessential dimensionsof recovery. Indeed, in terms of rehabilitation, the psychological dimension as well as the subjective experience of individuals affected by eating disorders play a determining role.
Recently published, the results ofour new studyreveal that when the overall well-being of patients improves — for example, when they develop a sense of self-acceptance or feel hope — they are more likely to declare themselves as having “personally” recovered from their disorder. And this is even when they still present some clinical symptoms.
How is recovery measured?
In terms of EDs, there is nounanimous definitionof what recovery is. On this subject, most of theexisting research workfocused on the symptoms. According to this approach, it is considered that a patient is recoveredwhen no diagnostic criterion (episode of bulimia, binge eating, purging behavior…) has been observed over a given period (for example, twelve consecutive months).
More recent research highlights, for its part, the importance of “personal recovery.” This notion implies that in terms of recovery, aspects related to psychological well-being are just as essential as those related to clinical symptoms.
Thus, in 2020, areview of the scientific literatureregarding research work that focused on the point of view of people with EDs, revealed that the support they received, the hope they felt, the awareness of their identity, their empowerment, the meaning and purpose given to their lives, their “empowerment” (autonomization) and theself-compassion(to show compassion towards oneself in case of weakness, suffering, or failure, Translator’s Note) occupied a central place in their recovery journey.
People suffering from eating disordersreportalso that integrating these dimensions into therapeutic objectives — rather than targeting only clinical symptoms — seems to them not only relevant, but also generates a feeling of empowerment. Moreover, someworksindicate that this approach can improve long-term outcomes and patients’ quality of life, thereby reducing the risk of relapse.
Yet,Until now, few studieshave focused on how personal and clinical dimensions could be integrated into care and thus jointly contribute to the recovery process. Understanding how to achieve this is a real urgency, as eating disorders are among the psychiatric disorders with the highest risk ofpotential mortality is the highest. Furthermore, the recovery of patients is oftenslow.
What we have done and what we have discovered
Our newsstudywas conducted with 234 adults who have experienced or are currently living with an eating behavior disorder. The majority of volunteers identified as women (89%) and their average age was 28 years.
Overall, less than a quarter of the participants (22.6%) met the criteria for clinical improvement, meaning that a large number of them remained engaged in restrictive eating behaviors or were still preoccupied with their food and body image. However, more than half (52.1%) considered themselves recovered.
This “personal recovery” encompassed self-acceptance as well as the ability to maintain positive interpersonal relationships, to have a sense of progress, increased resilience capacity and greater autonomy, and to observe a decrease in behaviors related to eating disorders.
While the clinical improvement of symptoms certainly favored personal recovery, nearly two-thirds (63.9%) of the participants who considered themselves “personally recovered” did not meet the clinical definition of recovery (in other words, they still exhibited certain symptoms of eating disorders).
This observation highlights the existence of a potential gap between a symptom-centered definition of recovery and what recovery truly means for the people who experience it.
During this study, we also sought to find out whether personal recovery differed depending on the diagnosis. All of the participants had received at some point in their lives a diagnosis of anorexia (68.4%), bulimia (8.5%), or binge eating disorder (also sometimes called “binge eating” – 8.1%).
Our results reveal that, in terms of personal recovery rates, there is no significant difference according to the type of diagnosis. This suggests that, regardless of the eating disorder encountered, the experience of personal recovery is largely similar.
Why are these results important?
When therapeutic success is evaluated almost exclusively based on lists of symptoms and clinical criteria, there is a risk of not seeing — and not valuing — the progress that matters most to the person being supported.
For this reason, we suggest not to rely solely onclinical recommendationsA: it is also important to ask people who are beginning a recovery journey what healing means to themfor them. Such an approach could also help improve therate of use of care for eating disorders (ED), which currently remains low. It could help clinicians define therapeutic goals that are meaningful for patients, which would better reflect the psychological nature of these disorders, and not just their physical manifestations.
If you are among those affected by an eating disorder (ED) and certain aspects seem important to you regarding recovery, do not hesitate to share them with the care team. Recovery takes different forms from one person to another, and your personal goals matter.
The objective of reaching awell-beingcan, among other things, consist of reconnecting with loved ones, rebuilding an identity, or simply regaining control over daily life, all alongside the improvement of clinical symptoms.
This observation also has systemic importance: the financing of specialized services in eating disorders and the decisions made in health policy still largely rely on clinical indicators. If these do not account for the dimensions of personal recovery, it is likely that the number of people on the path to healing is underestimated and that care systems are designed based on a narrower vision of recovery than what scientific data today allows to support.
To learn more
Thepage dedicated to eating disorderson the Psycom website, a French public organization intended to inform, guide, and raise awareness about mental health.
The authors do not work for, do not advise, do not hold shares in, do not receive funds from any organization that could benefit from this article, and have declared no other affiliation than their research institution.
–ref. Eating disorders: why the notion of recovery is not limited to food or weight –https://theconversation.com/eating-disorders-why-the-concept-of-recovery-is-not-limited-to-food-or-weight-282026