Tag: recovery

To eat and be placed in a holding yard is neither helpful, effective nor holistic when trying to recover from an eating disorder (ED). While hospital is useful and often necessary, our health system is like a bucket full of water. One that has so many holes that it is...

As a little girl, I was a wine glass, round and full of sweet red purple liquid. I didn’t know it was rotten until you put my rim to your lips and raised me into a champagne flute but you thinned me out too much and the liquid you lit...

Jessica turned 38 years old on the day that her story was posted on The Diary Healer.  After reading her insightful account and seeing the photo of her carefully cradling her newborn child, flanked by her two daughters, I asked myself, “Is this the same person you treated for restrictive...

I saw anorexia nervosa (AN) coming. It did not strike me suddenly. I had developed AN as a girl, and the thing I feared most about becoming a mother was that it could return in my life, harming one of my children. So, when my daughter Arianna (Ary) started to...

Whatever mess we find ourselves in, hope is our most powerful get-well tool. When we experience illness or trauma, our recovery becomes a journey and a destination. Along the way, hope provides a lantern when shadows surround us. Our wellbeing aligns with recovery and this has many parts – our...

When young, I never imagined the world had a plan of its own. I was only aware of my existence and those close to me, never questioning there was choice between how, where, what or why anything may happen and how I was expected to manage the external world when...

By Michelle Southern and Jennifer Hamer Two Australian-based women, Michelle and Jennifer, have created an online self-help eating disorder program to help address gaps in accessible and adequate treatment and care. Michelle and Jennifer bring first-hand understanding to the fore — their lives, studies and careers have been shaped through...

My story is not that different from most people who have experienced an eating disorder. My struggle with Anorexia Nervosa (AN) fits the textbook definition** and the similarities between my story and others are uncanny. However, for myself, as with others, the illness experience itself was incredibly personal. Most importantly,...

His voice curled around my waistline And tickled every toe, Breathing out security from his lips and his nose. My knight in shining armor, My king upon his throne. My medicine     My beekeeper          My lover…                  ...

Here, for the first time, I am sharing my eating disorder story publicly. Since my recovery, I have turned the negative energy of the illness into a positive, by creating an app to help people navigate, track, and recover from eating disorders. This mobile application is called Brighter Bite. I...