Cynthia Bulik, professor of eating disorders at Karolinska Institutet in Solna and at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, has studied various aspects of eating disorders for decades.
One thing that surprised her is how important relationships are to get well.
- We did a study of people who recovered from eating disorders and asked them what they thought meant the most to recovery, she says.
- We expected answers such as medication, therapy or hospital care, but what most returned to were relationships.
Unconditional love
It could be a partner, parent or close friend.
Some also mentioned the relationship with their therapist.
The answers in the study range from "experienced unconditional love from my partner" to "I had a couple of friends who, despite the illness, were there all the time and continued to treat me as before."
Other factors people who recovered from eating disorders highlighted were therapy and personal maturity.
The third part of the documentary series Eating Disorders follows, among others, the professional boxer Anthony Yigit from Spånga, who has had an eating disorder problem for 13 years.
In the video above, he describes how important his relationships with his girlfriend and coach are.