Living with an eating disorder

The University of Freiburg's Institute of Psychology is seeking men of varying ages who are prepared to report of their experiences of eating disorders -- either anorexia or bulimia – for the internet platform www.krankheitserfahrungen.de. The men may be living with the illness currently or have suffered from it in the past.

Six years ago the website set up by researchers from Freiburg and Göttingen was launched. Its aim is to allow patients to recount their personal experiences of suffering from a specific disease. Until now, the conditions addressed have been chronic pain, type two diabetes, epilepsy, chronic inflammatory bowel disease, breast cancer, prostate cancer, bowel cancer and medical rehabilitation. In the coming months, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in young people is set to be added. The creation of a module dedicated to eating disorders got underway last year. Only accounts of the experiences of men suffering from eating disorders remain to be gathered, then that part of the site will be ready for launch.

Patients who contribute to the website appear in parts of interviews -- either in the form of texts, video or audio clips. They tell of how illness changed their daily life and what effect it had on their family, friends and work. They also may speak about what treatment options they have tried and found to be helpful. "Scientific gathering and assessment guarantees that a broad range of experience is represented and that people with varying experiences are allowed to have a say," says the psychologist Prof. Dr. Gabriele Lucius-Hoene, who coordinates the project in Freiburg. The website is also used to train new doctors and for the continuing education of those who are already physicians as well as other employees in the healthcare professions.

For more information

Article in the research magazine uni'wissen

Contact:
Dr. Lisa Schäfer
Department of Rehabilitation Psychology
and Psychotherapy
University of Freiburg
Tel.: 0761/203-3041
E-Mail: lisa.schaefer@psychologie.uni-freiburg.de