Category: The Diary Healer News

advocacy A decade of eating disorder stories in The Diary Healer archive

A decade of eating disorder stories in The Diary Healer archive

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An amazing depth of connection, awareness and self-discovery has evolved and blossomed through The Diary Healer blog since 2012. More than 500 first-person stories have been shared on the blog during this time. The archive of Diary Healer blogs has grown into a rich resource for anyone seeking information about...

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advocacy Beyond my eating disorder – simple pleasures are mine to hold again

Beyond my eating disorder – simple pleasures are mine to hold again

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There is something beautiful about simply existing. For a long time, I let myself forgo that; thinking of existence as something I had to earn. Or maybe it was not the fact of earning, but of proving my existence was more impactful than those around me. In my mind, it...

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advocacy Korea’s first Eating Disorder Awareness Week giving life to small miracles

Korea’s first Eating Disorder Awareness Week giving life to small miracles

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In February this year, I took unpaid leave from work to organize Korea’s first Eating Disorders Awareness Week (EDAW). Afterwards, I went straight back to work, but my employer was restructuring his business. This meant I could take a month’s paid rest before starting a new job. This period felt...

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advocacy The Evolution of my Diary Journey

The Evolution of my Diary Journey

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Have you ever felt ready to reset your priorities? I was feeling this way and now I am excited to share details of an upcoming change with you. The Diary Healer has shared personal stories of hope and awareness about eating disorders with many readers around the world since its...

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advocacy Mirror, mirror … you are an eating disorder trigger no more

Mirror, mirror … you are an eating disorder trigger no more

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Mirrors have been part of my life since puberty, when I started getting acne and wearing makeup. Mirrors didn’t rate before then. What a wonderful time that must have been! In my early 20s, a friend suggested I get a fun house mirror that made me look thinner (I frequently...

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advocacy Exploring identity after an eating disorder – who am I?

Exploring identity after an eating disorder – who am I?

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Hi Grandma, How’s your Darwin trip so far? This message from granddaughter Olivia, 13, comes when I’m in the Top End, Australia’s Northern Territory, about 4000kms from home in country Victoria. Olivia was born just prior to my memoir being published (see letter to Olivia in A Girl Called Tim)...

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advocacy Athleticism, anorexia and addiction: endurance for eating disorder recovery

Athleticism, anorexia and addiction: endurance for eating disorder recovery

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It’s a common nightmare; one you may experience upon reviewing your physical training and racing schedule…. You’re in a race or being chased — swimming from a big fish, fleeing from a big bear or sprinting towards a big finish. You know how to run, remember what it feels like...

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advocacy Things I learned from my eating disorder 

Things I learned from my eating disorder 

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Almost three years have passed since I began to recover from anorexia nervosa. In July 2020, my 65th birthday was coming up and I could not remember a time without eating disorder thoughts and behaviors. Eating disorders are devious and sneaky; mine defied discovery for decades. Now I know better,...

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Anorexia Autism and eating disorders: a journey of acceptance and awareness

Autism and eating disorders: a journey of acceptance and awareness

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Today is what I’ve come to call a disorder day—an unpleasant, often unpredictable, pill-popping, anxiety-ridden, hold fast to whatever sane or stable thing that you can, just want to get through it kinda day. For anyone immune to these dis-orderly durations of agitation and agony—congrats, you are living a great...

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advocacy A Bright story of life beyond an eating disorder

A Bright story of life beyond an eating disorder

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I am writing from Bright, a town as beautiful as its name in north-east Victoria, Australia. I am on a three-day getaway with my English Staffordshire Terrier, Maisie. The two of us. We are staying in a delightful studio apartment beside the crystal-clear Ovens River that borders the town. There...

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