With Nature in Recovery: A Qualitative Exploration of Experiences With Nature and Friluftsliv in Everyday Life for Persons With Eating Disorders
Abstract
This thesis explores and discusses persons with eating disorders’ experiences with
nature and friluftsliv, etymologically translated as a free or open-air-life, as part of
everyday life recovery. Recent research has emphasised a contextualisation of
recovery as processes situated in a person’s everyday life. This has been argued to
be an important an validating perspective for individuals experiencing mental
health challenges, defining them as persons, not by their symptoms or diagnoses.
However, the prevailing approach to eating disorder recovery remains influenced
largely by clinical perspectives and diagnostic frameworks. To broaden the
understanding of what recovery processes for persons living and dealing with
eating disorder recovery may entail, researchers must emphasise the first-person
accounts of lived experiences and focus on identifying supportive strategies for
daily life.
Along with growing global concern related to mental health challenges, interaction
with nature has received increased attention with regard to health promotion and
recovery. Although the benefits of a healthy relationship with nature are
promising, further research is needed to elucidate the qualities of human–nature
engagement. Moreover, while much research has centred on various outdoor
therapies (such as adventure therapy and wilderness therapy), there is limited
knowledge highlighting experiences with nature and friluftsliv as part of mental
health and recovery processes for persons with eating disorders in non-clinical,
everyday settings.
This research project is influenced by a hermeneutic phenomenological approach.
In addition, the project has involved collaboration with a competence group,
consisting of six persons with experiences with eating disorders and/or mental
health challenges and with interests in nature and friluftliv, throughout the
research process. The thesis builds on an epistemological approach seeking
closeness to participants’ descriptions, recognising knowledge as co-created,
temporary, and contextual. My reflexive engagement in a process of exploring,
discussing, and reflecting has been important. This thesis is article-based and
consists of three sub-studies.
The first study encompasses a systematic literature review with the objective of
establishing the current knowledge base of friluftsliv as part of a person’s eating
disorder recovery processes. In addition, the review investigates how friluftsliv may
contribute to changes in factors related to a person’s eating disorder recovery
processes. Thirteen studies were deemed eligible and included in the review. The
findings indicate that participation in friluftsliv supported an improved body image,
appreciation and acceptance of one’s body, and enhanced self-esteem. However,
the review also reveals the limited existing research in this area, particularly
related to perspectives on nature and friluftsliv as part of recovery processes in
everyday contexts.
The second study is qualitative, based on individual semi-structured interviews and
‘going together’ as method. The aim is to explore embodying experiences with
nature related to recovery in everyday life for persons experiencing eating
disorders. Eight participants with an interest in nature and friluftsliv, all of whom
had experiences with bulimia nervosa and/or binge eating disorders, were
interviewed twice. The interviews took place in nature, and the findings reveal how
embodying experiences with nature enabled a (re)connection with one’s body.
Nature accentuated feelings of calmness and invited engagement with the senses.
Moreover, the participants described nature as nonjudgemental and as a place
providing room for self-care. In the article, my co-authors and I explore
perspectives on recovery as relational and contextual, related to human–nature
interaction. Particularly, we discuss how experiences with nature challenge
body mind dualism and assert the need for further research to create a holistic
approach towards the body in eating disorder recovery.
The aim of the third study is to explore subjective experiences of how friluftsliv can
support processes of recovery for persons living with eating disorders.
The empirical material is based on the same data-generation process used in the
second study. This material was analysed again in accordance with the aim of the
third study. The findings from this study indicate that friluftsliv encompass
nurturing environments and occupations that centre aspects of life other than the
eating disorder. Friluftsliv was defined as involving relational processes that
facilitate recognition of the participants’ needs, as well as a learning and practice
arena for reclaiming control over their recovery and, indeed, their lives.
Moreover, the participants described how friluftsliv supported a new sense of self
through (re)establishing oneself as an outdoor person. The experiences of the
participants illustrate recovery for persons with eating disorders as dynamic
processes, including times when the eating disorder could be shifted to the background and times when it felt more present.
The findings from the three sub-studies depict experiences with nature and
friluftsliv as nurturing environments and occupations that provide valuable breaks
from the distress associated with an eating disorder. In this regard, the participants
described friluftsliv as important supportive strategies for managing everyday life.
The overall discussion in the thesis centres upon how experiences with nature and
friluftsliv can be understood as embodied, relational, and related to perspectives
on everyday life. The participants’ descriptions of their embodied and relational
engagement with nature highlighted eating disorders as complex and
multi-layered. Nature facilitated a (re)connection between body and mind.
Furthermore, the participants emphasised the benefits of experiences with nature
and friluftsliv as shifting their focus to something ‘outside’ themselves. Moreover,
an everyday perspective on experiences with nature and friluftsliv recognises the
participants’ resources and efforts to support their recovery processes.
However, it is important to note that spending time with nature did not necessarily
heal or erase the entire struggle experienced. The project participants primarily
described their relationship with nature as providing important breaks and a
change of focus that were supportive in dealing with a difficult situation.
Moreover, the point is not to claim that friluftsliv is a meaningful part of recovery
for all persons experiencing eating disorders. Rather, this project advocates for the
continued exploration of multidisciplinary approaches to recovery, recognising
eating disorders as encompassing broader health concerns and affecting a person’s
wellbeing and quality of life.
Experiences ‘with nature in recovery’, as indicated in the title of this thesis,
contribute to extended knowledge on how participation in meaningful occupations
and healthy environments can support persons in living and dealing with the
recovery processes related to eating disorders.