A call to poets – for poems about eating disorders

A call to poets – for poems about eating disorders

Firstly, a heart-felt thank you to the many people responding to the call for diary and journal writers with experience of an eating disorder. Your enthusiasm is amazing and already, wonderful contributions for Using Writing as a Resource to Treat Eating Disorders: The Diary Healer are landing cheerily in my Inbox. This post contains a special message for diary and journal writers who are also poets.

The Diary Healer is really your book as much as mine. If you write a journal or a diary, or even if you are only thinking about it, this book is for you. Of course we don’t always ‘write’ in a straight narrative sort of way in our diary. Sometimes, I write verse, or make lists, or draw (my grandchildren laugh at my attempts) cartoon figures. My style of writing and self-expression very much reflects the mood I am in.

It doesn’t matter how I feel at the start of a diary entry – I could be happy, sad, frustrated, playful, angry, contented, anxious, elated – whatever my emotion, I always feel better as I complete my entry and close the diary for another day.

Writing down thoughts and feelings never fails to lighten any load and elevate my spirits.

Writing poetry can be a little more challenging but also more rewarding. Perhaps this is because  poetry demands more ‘in the moment’ type concentration, to ensure the verse flows or does whatever we want it to do. Words are our friends, aren’t they, for we can make them do whatever we want them to. And they don’t judge or complain.

Have you found the writing of poetry to be a comfort while suffering/recovering from an eating disorder?

If you would like to share your poems to help show how such writing can help in coping with and healing from an eating disorder, I look forward to hearing from you. Please don’t wonder if your poem is ‘good enough’ to share – this is not a competition – the main criteria is that your poem expresses, illustrates and conveys your thoughts and feelings at any given moment. This is all that matters.

Maybe you would like to share several poems, of different lengths, in different styles, and about different stages of your eating disorder. The only requirement really, is that your poem is totally your own creation and has not been published elsewhere. 

Carers and siblings – if you have found the writing of poetry to be a helpful coping tool – I would like to hear from you, too:-). 

For your poem to be considered for inclusion in The Diary Healer, write to: june@junealexander.com 

If you know someone who writes  poetry about their eating disorder, share this message with them. Everybody’s creativity counts. I look forward to hearing from you!