Que "diferen？a faz a diferen？a" na recupera？？o da anorexia nervosa?

background: the difficulties in the treatment of anorexia nervosa are well known and there is still today a dominant conception of anorexia nervosa as a chronic illness. nevertheless, several studies show not only that recovery is possible but also that there are women who recover spontaneously, even without medical treatment. objective: this study intends to review the existing literature on the factors that contributed to the recovery in anorexia nervosa, whether or not related to treatment. methods and results: from the review of 13 existing studies, on the perspective of former patients about what contributed to the recovery, this article highlights which "differences did make a difference" and analyzes how these differences can actually make the difference. conclusion: the authors conclude that although research had been mainly focused on understanding the most important medical treatment factors, many former patients emphasize the usefulness of extra-treatment factors, namely the importance of relationships in the maintenance and resolution of the problem. the same factors are considered harmful and/or useful by different respondents, which bring us to the complexity of the recovery phenomenon that still requires further research.