Analysing ambivalent attitudes through narratives: a transdisciplinary approach

Abstract

Ambivalence toward treatment is a defining feature of anorexia nervosa (AN), yet the role of illness-related beliefs in maintaining the disorder remains underexplored. While current models of AN maintenance foreground cognitive-emotional traits, coping styles, and interpersonal dynamics, illness-related beliefs are often reduced to binary “pro” versus “anti” positions, overlooking the ways language itself conveys ambivalence. This paper proposes a transdisciplinary approach, drawing on psychosomatic medicine, psychology, psychiatry, literary studies, and rhetoric, to examine how ambiguity in patient narratives reflects and sustains ambivalence. Close analysis of diverse genres–including memoirs, poetry, and social media posts–reveals nuanced articulations that defy conventional coding schemes. Ambiguity, far from obscuring meaning, provides insight into the simultaneity of attraction and repulsion patients experience toward both AN and its treatment. By treating narratives as constitutive rather than merely descriptive of belief, this approach expands the evidentiary base of AN research and offers clinicians new tools for recognizing and engaging ambivalence in practice. Integrating narrative and literary methods with psychological frameworks can deepen understanding of illness-related beliefs and support more holistic approaches to treatment.