Tag: #writing #recovery #anorexia nervosa

Our journey in the terrifying world of anorexia nervosa continues. We have roller-coasted over the past few months, and my daughter, Summer*, has turned 11. We have made some giant steps forward and a few small ones backward. The biggest one backward is being hospitalised again. Summer had been making...

So, I quit my job again at the end of January. The healthcare company I worked for was one of those doctor-owned ventures not uncommon in Seoul, South Korea, where medical doctors generally belong to the highest income groups and are probably the most exclusive interest group. In a misogynistic...

I’ve broken yet again. What hope have I got? I wonder, but I must have hope. Must not I, for when I think there is none, I want to die because one cannot live without hope. (Diary excerpt, 1991) I’m 40 years old. The next day I regress further.  I’m...

Yesterday was one of those days that did not work out as planned. All went well, initially. I was in the local, heated, 50m outdoor pool by 6.10am, doing a half-hour of prescribed exercises. I love being in the water. Then I came home, showered, and took Maisie for a...

Eating Disorder Awareness Week (EDAW) 2024 will take place in Korea from February 28 to March 5, with all seven sessions examining the theme of Epistemic Justice. The question of how to reflect the lived experiences of the eating disorder sufferers, and those of the mental health patients themselves into...

So, you want to write your memoir? A memoir is a story about part of your life. What part do you most want to write about? Why? My memoir, A Girl Called Tim, is about my life with an eating disorder from age 11 to age 55. As I entered...

I have been struggling with my eating disorder for a very long time and in the past two and a half years, quite badly. The act of taking sick leave for a long time is not necessarily accompanied by an obligation to cooperate as a patient. For example, an eating...

DE: What is Anorexia calling out to you at the moment, Helen? What is it saying to you as you struggle towards the Anti-Anorexic side? What is it calling out to you? HW: Punish yourself! Starve yourself! Writing was both a survival tool and a recovery tool during my incarceration...

Imagine embracing the mainstream after decades of incarceration in anorexia nervosa and trauma. For years, Karyn’s eating disorder would not allow her to speak above a whisper, if at all. Fear and stigma silenced her. Working with her treatment team, writing became a safe way to communicate and paved the...