Young adults' transition to a plant-based diet as a psychosomatic process: A psychoanalytically informed perspective.

This study examined transition to a plant-based diet by young adults and the challenges and conflicts this brings. Interviews were conducted with nine young adults in Sweden and the answers were analysed guided by a psychological method from descriptive phenomenology. The results indicate that the transition to a plant-based diet is a process comprising five dimensions: 1) Exploring new ways of living based on health anxieties, 2) regulating conflicting emotions through differentiation, 3) transforming traditional models into new alternatives, 4) confirming new skills and abilities and 5) integrating experiences and emotions into a whole.

Young adults' use of emotional food memories to build resilience.

The overall aim of this study is to specifically investigate how young adults make use of emotional-relational food memories related to "significant others" during childhood when trying to build resilience and solve developmental tasks in this period of life. A theoretical sample of three semi-structured interviews drawn from a larger sample of 30 interviews with young adults in Sweden formed the basis for analysis, guided by the steps of a phenomenologically oriented critical narrative analysis. The results illustrate three different overall directions in how the relationship to food can evolve throughout life among young adults: a relationship dominated by 1) positive emotional food memories associated with the use of food as a secure base and 2) negative emotional food memories associated with either a) being emotionally preoccupied with food or b) dismissing food.

Young adults' use of food as a self-therapeutic intervention.

The aim of this study was to investigate how young adults use their lived body as a starting point for lifestyle explorations and as a strategy for well-being. The transcripts of 10 interviews with persons 18 to 33 years old, collected in Sweden, were analysed for variation in the practises and experiences related to this way of using food. An application of the descriptive phenomenological psychological research method guided the process.

Organic food as a healthy lifestyle: a phenomenological psychological analysis.

This study explored the phenomenon of the lived experience of choosing a healthy lifestyle based upon an organic diet as seen from the perspective of the young adult. Interviews were collected in Sweden and analyzed using the descriptive phenomenological psychological research method. The results showed the general psychological structure of the phenomenon, comprising four constituents: (1) the lived body as the starting point for life exploration, (2) a narrative self through emotional-relational food memories, (3) a conscious life strategy for well-being and vitality, and (4) a personal set of values in relation to ethical standards.