Hoping to maintain a balance: the concept of hope and the discontinuation of anorexiant medications.

The secondary analysis of transcripts from a study of 9 women who used prescription anorexiant medications described in this article was conducted to discover the role that hope played in the women's weight-loss initiatives. It was found that hope grew throughout the women's weight-loss initiative but peaked once the medications were discontinued. Seven components of the concept of hope were described in the context of the women's weight-loss experiences. Characteristics of hope in women who have discontinued anorexiant medications are different than those associated with hope in other contexts. A unique pattern of hope, hoping to maintain a balance, describes the women's experiences as they strove to maintain the weight they had lost.