Dear Diary Blog
Share your story on The Diary Healer
The Diary Healer offers a safe and supportive environment in which to share your story. Sharing your story can help you to develop a sense of belonging and connectedness with self and others. Stories that provide a message of hope in coping with life challenges are especially welcome. Share your story today.
Into the Great Wide Open: Family Risk and the Prevention of Eating Disorders (part 2)
In last month’s column, I communicated my surprise that there are no published studies of prevention of disordered eating (DE) and EDs in high-risk (HR) families. This situation exists despite evidence demonstrating genetic risk factors for eating disorders and the value..
Sixty years on, my diary has evolved from a private survival tool to an open family record
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..
Supporting and involving families will help recovery and cut ED treatment costs
Families do not cause an eating disorder (ED). However, the family’s role in treatment and recovery is crucial. This is because the best place to heal from an ED is in the home. However, for this to happen, we need..
Everyday lessons in building resilience through the pandemic
“I have a great idea. I’m going to write and photograph a book documenting life throughout the pandemic of 2020. —My diary, New Year’s Eve 2020 Just like that, I leapt headfirst into the new and lengthy process of writing..
What does an eating disorder look like to you?
Do you think you can tell a person has an eating disorder just by their appearance? Do you think a person with an eating disorder looks a certain way? Do you think they are either very fat or very thin,..
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Into the Great Wide Open: Family Risk and the Prevention of Eating Disorders
Consider six propositions strongly supported by research: 1. Eating disorders (EDs) are serious, sometimes chronic mental illnesses. 2. There will never be enough qualified therapists and other professionals to treat the number of patients with EDs, especially since mood disorders and substance..
Encouraging our senior citizens to pick up their pens and reveal their gems
Writing about one’s life is like picking up a stone on a dusty gravel road and giving it a good rub to reveal the gem within. Besides writing books about eating disorders, I enjoy helping people discover their own special..
The power of story-telling and why your story counts
Feeling misunderstood is one of the most difficult and emotionally painful aspects when experiencing an eating disorder. My parents and sister, after decades of witnessing behaviours driven by my illness, gave up trying to understand me. Do I blame them?..
Finding a family in eating disorder advocacy
Often, during recovery, I never wanted to hear the term “eating disorder” again. Why then, have I embraced the term and become involved in eating disorder advocacy? Why not shut out the eating disorder experience and pretend the big gap..
Picture this: a creative solution to managing eating disorder recovery and surviving the pandemic
Sam Tench was recovering from a major life challenge when the COVID-19 pandemic hit in early 2020. She had just hit upon writing and photography as a way of cultivating connection with her healthy self after years in the clutches..