Posts Tagged ‘anorexia; healing; trauma; recovery; eating disorders; wellbeing; identity’
Using writing to assist healing from an eating disorder
Imagine writing a self-healing, feel-good book to document your goals and progress this year. What will your chapters comprise? Lotta, who has anorexia nervosa, writes: It is the time of the year when there is space to look on the..
The benefits of exploring identity through diary writing practice
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..
An epiphany at 72 – it is never too late to be fully you
My birthdays have often been a non-event. However, an epiphany has marked my latest milestone. Yesterday, surrounded by five grandchildren and their parents lustily singing Happy Birthday, I felt overwhelmed by a sudden, deeper freedom to experience the moment. I..
Eating Disorders as Metaphors – it’s time for change
It’s time to change our perspectives so we can think about eating disorders more clearly. That is, it’s time to move away from current interpretations of eating disorders that are largely contaminated with “metaphors”. I am not referring to the..
Aging and Eating Disorders – recovery is worthwhile at every age
For 55 of my 67 years, I have struggled with an eating disorder, namely anorexia nervosa. I wasn’t formally diagnosed until age 65, about which I can only say, “Better late than never.” Because I didn’t shrink my body enough..
Sometimes a metaphor can aid recovery
There’s nothing easy about recovery. Challenges come up every day. Skills develop over time. Insights are often slow and murky. As a therapist who specialized in the treatment of individuals diagnosed with eating disorders, I learned that people find their..
An inside story about eating disorders in South Korea
I was a fixture at all students’ writing contests and didn’t expect to be congratulated with just mundane prizes, but from second grade in high school, I was unable to write. I could write only self-pitying, crappy things, bleak, fragmented..
Researchers call on people with eating disorder experience for answers
A team of Australian researchers believe that listening to stories from people who have eating disorder experience is the best way forward in finding new ways to treat the illness. The Western Sydney University research team, led by Dr Janet..
Why an eating disorder should not be the main character of a life’s story
Isn‘t a story something with a beginning, a main part and a hopefully happy ending? I am not sure I can structure those past years of my life in such a way. Especially with the focus on my eating disorder. Thinking..
Redirecting eating disorder experience into advocacy helps to maintain recovery
For years I said, ‘I won’t know who I am, without my eating disorder.’ I was fearful of recovery because the eating disorder dominated my identity. If you feel this same way, I’ve good news. I recovered from anorexia nervosa..