The experience of living with an anorexic voice: an interpretative phenomenological analysis
type: CreativeWork
description: Background: Current Anorexia Nervosa (AN) research concurs early clinical descriptions of an eating disorder depicted for some individuals as an ‘internal voice’ (Tierney & Fox, 2010). The internal voice referenced in AN literature has more recently been referred to as the anorexic voice (AV). For the most part, the AV is recognised as internally generated, importantly, it is often reported as an experience altogether alien to one`s sense of self, distinct from one`s inner thoughts and dialogue hence why it is called a ‘voice’. Often depicted as hostile and intense, the AV is considered omnipotent, powerful and negative in relation to AN pathology (Noordenbos & Van Geest, 2017; Pugh & Waller, 2016; Pugh, 2020). These depictions of the AV have been largely valuable when investigating symptom severity as well as in the context of AV contributions to AN relapse. Much is still unknown about this phenomenon as awareness of its influential role in AN has emerged primarily in the past decade. Largely absent from AN literature are the intricacies of individual experience of the AV over the course of the entire AN illness trajectory (from onset, through maintenance, relapse and recovery) as recounted in first person narrative accounts. This suggests aspects of the AV currently overlooked could be unearthed by means of qualitative investigation and further contribute to the existing knowledgebase of both this phenomenon and its connection to AN. Aims: The study aimed to gain a rich and detailed understanding of the way in which individuals with AN experience the AV. This study aimed to capture the AV experience from the point of illness onset through to recovery, it also sought to provide the health professions with helpful insights into what individuals with AN who report an AV are possibly experiencing. Methodology: Six semi-structured interviews were conducted with women who identified as recovered from AN and who confirmed an experience of the AV in conjunction with their…
abstract: Background: Current Anorexia Nervosa (AN) research concurs early clinical descriptions of an eating disorder depicted for some individuals as an ‘internal voice’ (Tierney & Fox, 2010). The internal voice referenced in AN literature has more recently been referred to as the anorexic voice (AV). For the most part, the AV is recognised as internally generated, importantly, it is often reported as an experience altogether alien to one`s sense of self, distinct from one`s inner thoughts and dialogue hence why it is called a ‘voice’. Often depicted as hostile and intense, the AV is considered omnipotent, powerful and negative in relation to AN pathology (Noordenbos & Van Geest, 2017; Pugh & Waller, 2016; Pugh, 2020). These depictions of the AV have been largely valuable when investigating symptom severity as well as in the context of AV contributions to AN relapse. Much is still unknown about this phenomenon as awareness of its influential role in AN has emerged primarily in the past decade. Largely absent from AN literature are the intricacies of individual experience of the AV over the course of the entire AN illness trajectory (from onset, through maintenance, relapse and recovery) as recounted in first person narrative accounts. This suggests aspects of the AV currently overlooked could be unearthed by means of qualitative investigation and further contribute to the existing knowledgebase of both this phenomenon and its connection to AN. Aims: The study aimed to gain a rich and detailed understanding of the way in which individuals with AN experience the AV. This study aimed to capture the AV experience from the point of illness onset through to recovery, it also sought to provide the health professions with helpful insights into what individuals with AN who report an AV are possibly experiencing. Methodology: Six semi-structured interviews were conducted with women who identified as recovered from AN and who confirmed an experience of the AV in conjunction with their…
author: Mullins, Angela
keywords: 610 Medicine & health
date published: 2020-09
date modified: 2026-07-24T02:54:36Z
provider: London Metropolitan University
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: London Metropolitan University