Tag: diary writing as therapy

Life Stories Diary Story-sharing in a safe and supportive place fosters self-growth

Story-sharing in a safe and supportive place fosters self-growth

by

Writing my story and sharing it with anyone feels a bit risky and involves a certain amount of bravery. I imagine others feel the same about sharing a narrative hitherto private. Life Stories Diary seems like the perfect place to take this risk. The private Self-Paced Life Stories Course within...

Continue reading
advocacy How my diaries led to a memoir and finding Me

How my diaries led to a memoir and finding Me

by

When I mentor clients in memoir writing, I explain this can be a three-stage process, depending on their goal. Stage One involves writing the first version of your story for yourself. This is the time to put everything on the table. Don’t hold back. Maybe there are repressed experiences that...

Continue reading
advocacy The Evolution of my Diary Journey

The Evolution of my Diary Journey

by

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...

Continue reading
Anorexia Using journaling to unite brain with body in eating disorder recovery

Using journaling to unite brain with body in eating disorder recovery

by

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...

Continue reading
Anorexia The benefits of exploring identity through diary writing practice

The benefits of exploring identity through diary writing practice

by

I am like a dinosaur when it comes to diary writing. I have kept a diary since childhood. I’m now 72.  The diary is part of me. Why? Early this week I was conversing with daughter Amanda, 46, about my diary collection, wondering out loud who might take care of...

Continue reading
Eating Disorders Sixty years on, my diary has evolved from a private survival tool to an open family record

Sixty years on, my diary has evolved from a private survival tool to an open family record

by

In 1962, when undiagnosed anorexia nervosa ravaged my 11-year-old mind and body, a small miracle occurred. A Christmas gift of a diary sparked a lifelong passion. A bond of trust and friendship was forged immediately with that little diary. I began writing in it that very day. Sixty years on,...

Continue reading

A story of love and acceptance, and a foreign exchange

by

A pamphlet attached to the noticeboard outside the school principal’s office caught my eye. The year was 1967 and I was 16. The words “essay,” “scholarship,” “USA,” drew me in. The American Field Service was offering scholarships to students to study the senior year of school in the United States....

Continue reading

Using diary-writing as a self-help tool to connect and heal

by

Twenty minutes a day is all it takes. Writing in your diary for 20 minutes each day can help you to feel in control of your life. You can write in your diary anywhere, at any time of the day. You can use pen or paper, a tablet or even...

Continue reading

Eating disorder recovery involves eating properly: Add a dash of feelings, faith, family and friends to meal time

by

“FOOD. I HATE IT. I would like to start being kind to myself. And not punish myself with food anymore. To me food is like a cancer, its tentacles reaching into and clawing at my emotions, my feelings, my thoughts, never giving a moment’s respite. I HATE IT. Every decision...

Continue reading

Moving on from an eating disorder with help from diary writing

by

by June Alexander Be the Master of your Ship: Journeying through an Eating Disorder … I am the master of my ship. I am in control. Yet, all too soon, it feels so wrong … … Yet, I can still choose.                  ...

Continue reading