Binge Eating Disorders – Experience of Change in the Relationship with Food and the Body during Treatment

Abstract

Background: Binge eating disorder is a multidimensional mental health condition associated with a complicated relationship to food and the body. Non-pharmacological treatments such as psychoeducation are common, but there is a lack of knowledge regarding patients’ experience of completing a treatment programme. To our knowledge, no study has been conducted exploring the lifeworld of patients with binge eating disorder regarding changes in their relationship with food and the body during treatment. Aim: The aim was to develop a deeper understanding of how changes related to food and the body are experienced by patients with binge eating disorder during psychological treatment. Method: A qualitative approach was employed to explore the lifeworld of the participants. Eight patients were purposely sampled and interviewed, after which the interviews were transcribed verbatim and analysed using systematic text condensation. Results: Four categories emerged: Transition from senseless towards sensible handling of feelings, Transition from body-hatred towards body-benevolence, Transition from anxiety towards confidence in relation to others and Transition from mindless towards conscious eating. Conclusion: Patients suffering from binge eating disorder experience a disruption in their lifeworld, which creates a sense of distance between themselves and the world. Several transition processes emerged after treatment, which were experienced as unifying in the patients’ lifeworld and enhanced their sense of closeness to themselves.