The road to liberation: Metaphors and narratives of illness of women recovered from bulimia nervosa

This paper attempts to identify the unique way in which women who have recovered from bulimia nervosa (BN) describe their recovery process. This is a qualitative study, based on in-depth interviews with twelve women who have recovered from BN. Analysis of the interviews reveals that the women use metaphoric language to describe their recovery as a sharp transition transformation is described using three archetypal protagonists who embody three dimensions of change: the Self, the Bulimia, and the Environment. The recovery experience that emerges from the interviews is a complex and polarized one, encompassing a perception of achievement and victory over the disorder, coupled with a contradictory view of the Bulimia as chronic disorder. The findings of the research are discussed in reference to object relations theory and the use of the splitting mechanism.