ArticleJournal of eating disorders2021
Exploring the experience of being viewed as "not sick enough": a qualitative study of women recovered from anorexia nervosa or atypical anorexia nervosa.
Article in Journal of eating disorders, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 24 papers.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
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Who cites it
24 citing papers in PubMed, 47 citations in OpenAlex.
- Existing in a Battle Zone - The Lived Experience of Adolescents Subjected to Hospital Compulsory Care Due to Severe Anorexia Nervosa.Child psychiatry and human development · 2026Article
- Contra-Hedonic Functions of Self-Destructive Behaviors in Adolescents.The International journal of eating disorders · 2026Article
- Operationalising adult eating disorders admission criteria in Australian emergency departments: a clinical decision-support approach.Journal of eating disorders · 2026Article
- Cardiovascular risk factors and serious health events in individuals with eating disorders: a systematic review.Journal of eating disorders · 2026Review
- A Weight-Inclusive Approach to Restrictive Eating Disorders: De-Centering Weight.The International journal of eating disorders · 2026Review
- The Role of Self-Objectification and Physical Exercise in Social Appearance Anxiety and Restrained Eating Among Female College Students.Behavioral sciences (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Weight Stigma in the Development, Maintenance, and Treatment of Eating Disorders: A Case Series Informing Implications for Research and Practice.Research on child and adolescent psychopathology · 2025Article
- Article
- Adopting vegetarian and vegan eating patterns: Associations with disordered eating behaviors among young adult college students.Eating behaviors · 2025Article
- Does Evidence Support an Emotion Regulation Model of Anorexia Nervosa? A Systematic Review of Over a Decade of Research.Clinical psychology : a publication of the Division of Clinical Psychology of the American Psychological Association · 2025Article
- Data mining identifies meaningful severity specifiers for anorexia nervosa.Journal of psychopathology and clinical science · 2025Article
- Staying isolated indoors means that nobody sees me": ontological (in)security and living with significant appearance concerns before, during, and 'since' COVID-19.International journal of qualitative studies on health and well-being · 2024Article
- Growing up in a larger body: youth- and parent-reported triggers for illness and barriers to recovery from anorexia nervosa.Journal of eating disorders · 2024Article
- Navigating the ethical complexities of severe and enduring (longstanding) eating disorders: tools for critically reflective practice and collaborative decision-making.Journal of eating disorders · 2024Review
- Discordant conceptualisations of eating disorder recovery and their influence on the construct of terminality.Journal of eating disorders · 2024Article
- Few differences in psychiatric comorbidities and treatment response among people with anorexia nervosa and atypical anorexia nervosa.The International journal of eating disorders · 2024Article
- Feasibility and preliminary effectiveness of a cognitive-behavioral, family-centered partial hospitalization program for adolescents with anorexia nervosa and atypical anorexia nervosa at six- and twelve-month follow-up.European eating disorders review : the journal of the Eating Disorders Association · 2024Article
- What kind of illness is anorexia nervosa? Revisited: some preliminary thoughts to finding a cure.Journal of eating disorders · 2023Article
- "You Don't Look Anorexic": Atypical anorexia patient experiences of weight stigma in medical care.Body image · 2023Article
- Inaccessibility of care and inequitable conceptions of suffering: a collective response to the construction of "terminal" anorexia nervosa.Journal of eating disorders · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
3 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundDespite common misconceptions, an individual may be seriously ill with a restrictive eating disorder without an outwardly recognizable physical sign of the illness. The aim of this qualitative study was to investigate the perspectives of individuals who have previously battled a restrictive eating disorder who were considered "not sick enough" by others (e.g., peers, families, healthcare professionals) at some point during their illness, and to understand the perceived impact on the illness and recovery. Such misconceptions are potentially damaging, and have been previously linked with delayed help-seeking and poorer clinical outcomes.
methodsSeven women who had recovered from anorexia nervosa or atypical anorexia nervosa participated in semi-structured interviews. Interviews were transcribed and interpretive phenomenological analysis was used.
resultsThree main themes emerged: (1) dealing with the focus upon one's physical appearance while battling a mental illness, (2) "project perfect": feeling pressure to prove oneself, and (3) the importance of being seen and understood. Participants reported that their symptoms were occasionally met with trivialization or disbelief, leading to shame, confusion, despair, and for some, deterioration in eating disorder symptoms which drove further weight loss. In contrast, social support and being understood were viewed as essential for recovery.
conclusionTo facilitate treatment seeking and engagement, and to optimize chances of recovery, greater awareness of diverse, non-stereotypical presentations of restrictive eating disorders is needed which challenge the myth that weight is the sole indicator of the presence or severity of illness.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.