Category: The Diary Healer News

Lying on the scanning table, my mind wanders, mentally running through tasks to complete before heading home. After comfortably (obliviously) shielding myself with denial, my default for 21 years, lying on this table is a mundane task. Blood tests, ultrasounds, MRIs, X-rays, and computed tomography (CT) scans are routine procedures...

The scariest part of having an eating disorder is the next step. This next step may be any major life shift. For me, it was university. I did not attend school during my junior year of high school because I was in treatment. While my friends were touring colleges, I was...

I love to participate in online eating disorder surveys, especially those inviting ‘lived experience’ to be shared. I haven’t always felt this way about sharing my illness story, so what has changed? Firstly, I have been with narrative mentor, Dr June Alexander, as a client for more than three years...

Utopia: a place of ideal perfection especially in laws, government, and social conditions (Merriam-Webster Dictionary) In sixth grade, my class was asked to write a paper entitled Utopia. The year was 1966-67, when the United States was embroiled in the Vietnam war, peace protests and race riots. My class was...

I never thought that at 16 years old I would forget who I was. I want to emphasize the word ‘forget’ because I did not choose to transform into someone I could not recognize. I did not choose to have my brain so thickly clouded that I could not remember...

My eating disorder (ED) stipulated that isolating myself was essential for survival. I had no capacity left in my mind or body to function as me. Until I could master self-compassion and self-care, any progress would be skin deep. To trust myself and become part of my treatment team required connection with...

Korea’s first Eating Disorder Awareness Week (EDAW) has exposed the serious issue of eating disorders within families and communities. The hard schedule of seven consecutive days to mark this EDAW concluded in front of a small audience in a dimly lit bookshop. People stood and applauded, and the engineer stopped...

The start of a new year traditionally comes with resolutions and promises to improve or do better in some way. Before I was deeply entrenched in an eating disorder (ED), my go-to resolution was to lose weight. This was the popular thing to do, and still is, according to the...

I don’t remember how many others were there. Between 10 and 15, maybe. All with years of experience of being around horses. A part of me was reprimanding me for being there. ‘You know nothing about horses’, she seethed. ‘You’re going to make a complete fool of yourself, and everyone...

Lived experience will feature in Korea’s first Eating Disorders Awareness Week (EDAW), for which I’m responsible. I’ve often been told not to scale up things so hastily, not to put too many irons in the fire, but such cautions seem useless because I’ve developed a simple suggestion from Prof. Youl...