Her Best Self: Freedom from Disordered Eating, Body Obsession & Perfectionism EP 262.5: "I Laughed When My Therapist Said to Journal — Then It Saved My Life" ~ #1 ED Recovery Tool📓
When my therapist first told me to start journaling as part of my recovery practice, I literally laughed in her face.
Journaling? Like... affirmations? I didn't believe that writing in a notebook would help me recover from my eating disorder. It seemed too simple. Too basic. Too... pointless.
But sis, I was so wrong.
Journaling didn't just help me recover. It actually saved my life. And if fear is keeping you stuck in restrictive behaviors right now—if you're terrified to recover because you're not sure who you'll be without your eating disorder—then you need to hear this.
In this episode, I'm breaking down the 7 science-backed benefits of journaling that transformed my recovery and why this simple practice might be the missing piece in yours. We live in a culture of information overload—endless scrolling, constant content, comparison on every platform. But what if instead of consuming more, you need to process what's already in your mind?
According to the National Institute of Health, 26% of adults suffer from a diagnosable mental disorder. Eating disorders have the highest mortality rate of any mental illness. And yet, only 8% of the world population keeps a journal.
It's time to go back to the basics. It's time to slow down. It's time to give your brain the space it needs to heal.
In this episode, you'll discover:
- Why I laughed when my therapist suggested journaling (and why I was so wrong)
- The shocking statistics about mental health and why we need to process, not just consume
- 7 powerful benefits of journaling in eating disorder recovery (backed by science)
- How journaling reduces anxiety and depression while boosting your immune system
- Why getting thoughts OUT of your mind is critical for cognitive processing
- How writing promotes healing, acceptance, and actually changes your brain
- The way I used journaling to replace negative coping mechanisms with positive ones
- How journaling gives you reset, redirection, and compassion for your journey
- Why reflecting on your progress through old journals sparks hope and momentum
- Practical tips on how to start journaling TODAY (no fancy notebook required)
If you've been stuck, if you've been overwhelmed by the thoughts in your mind, if you don't know where to go next—this episode is your permission to start simple. Start small. Start today.
Journaling changed my life. And it can change yours too.
KEY QUOTES FROM THIS EPISODE💛 "When my therapist told me years ago to start journaling as part of a personal recovery practice, I believe I actually laughed in her face. I think I said, 'About what? Like affirmations?' I didn't even believe that journaling would help me recover from my eating disorder. But I was wrong."
💛 "It's time that we go back to the basics in order to heal our bodies. It's time that we stop just ingesting all of this content and information causing us to hate our lives, hate our bodies, draw closer to our disordered behaviors and sit miserable in comparison."
💛 "How do you expect to find freedom from an eating disorder or an unhealthy relationship with food if you're not getting any of that out of your mind? Journaling allows you to get out what is going in."
💛 "When you write down positive things over and over and over, it allows you to see patterns. It actually allows you to believe or to start believing what it is you're writing."
💛 "Maybe you need to get it out. Maybe you need to do exactly what I did: 'I hate this freaking snack right now. I hate that I have to sit here and eat it. I hate that I'm so scared to gain weight, and yet I'm doing the thing anyways because I know on the opposite side of this action one day I'm gonna wake up free.'"
💛 "How are you gonna remember the hard days if you don't get out the hard thing? How are you gonna remember the small wins that feel massive to you in the moment, five years from now, a month from now? Journaling helps you process."
💛 "There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside of you." - Maya Angelou
THE SHOCKING STATISTICS YOU NEED TO KNOW📊 Only 8% of the world population keeps a journal
📊 Only 22% of people have journaled in their lifetime
📊 26% of adults 18+ suffer from a diagnosable mental disorder (that's 1 in 4 adults)
📊 Eating disorders have the highest mortality rate of any mental illness
📊 Half of Americans will experience a mental illness in their lifetime
📊 4.5 million kids live with anxiety disorders
The takeaway? We need to slow down as a culture. Instead of this flux of information overload, we need to give our brains time to PROCESS. We need grace to weed through all the things, filter out all the things, and process our thoughts and feelings about our lives—much less about our bodies and our relationship with food.
THE 7 SCIENCE-BACKED BENEFITS OF JOURNALING IN ED RECOVERYBENEFIT #1: Reduces Anxiety and Depression, Increases Optimism
Journaling boosts your immune system and researchers have shown improved organ function simply from journaling. Yes, ORGAN FUNCTION. Your body heals when you give your mind space to process.
BENEFIT #2: Increased Cognitive Processing
Journaling allows you to get OUT what is going IN. All the voices telling you you're not good enough, not small enough—all those beliefs you've been telling yourself over and over. How do you expect to find freedom if you're not getting any of that out of your mind?
BENEFIT #3: Promotes Healing and Acceptance
Writing is tranquil. Writing is a healing practice. When you write, you read. This creates improved memory function. When you write down positive things over and over, it allows you to see patterns. It actually allows you to START BELIEVING what you're writing.
BENEFIT #4: Calms the Brain and Body
This leads to stress resilience, allowing you to leverage writing versus going to negative coping mechanisms. When I was in the worst of the worst with my anorexia, every single time I felt like I wanted to over-exercise or restrict food, I would replace that with journaling.
Example: "Let me go get my snack, and then after my snack, I'm gonna sit down and journal and get out the thoughts in my mind. Maybe I'll write: 'I hate this freaking snack right now. I hate that I have to sit here and eat it. I hate that I'm so scared to gain weight, and yet I'm doing the thing anyways because I know on the opposite side of this action one day I'm gonna wake up free.'"
It allows your brain to be calm. It allows your body to be at peace.
BENEFIT #5: Gives You Reset and Redirection
Journaling creates space and distance from the things you're thinking about, and it allows you time to reframe, reset, and redirect. As you're writing, you're thinking about what you're writing. And if you don't spend time thinking about what you're thinking about, how are you gonna make a change? How are you gonna show up differently?
BENEFIT #6: Practice Compassion and Gratitude
When you're listing what you have overcome, what you've accomplished, what you're grateful for—this actually helps give you hope during the hard. It helps you process all that you have done. How are you gonna remember the small wins that feel massive to you in the moment, five years from now, a month from now? Journaling helps you process.
BENEFIT #7: Helps You Reflect and Recover
You can go back and read your journal. You can go back and read your journey. On the hard days, you can go back to the inspirational things and say, "You know what? Today might feel hard. Today might suck. But last week, look at this win I had." That gives you motivation, momentum, and it sparks your ability to want to keep going. It shows your progress.
WHAT JOURNALING DOES FOR YOUR BRAINJournaling allows you to develop what is called a coherent narrative. This simply means you can take the experiences and events in your life and look at them almost as a third party.
This is a very holistic practice. As you're getting these thoughts out on the page, as you're writing your story out, you can sit with it and say, "How would I view this if I was reading this as a novel? Or if this was a page from my friend's notebook?"
Instead of judging yourself in the journey, it allows you to develop a new and true voice.
Journaling is about: ✨ Self-discovery
✨ Self-love
✨ Processing emotions
✨ Identifying your triggers and stressors
✨ Gaining confidence in yourself
✨ Self-monitoring and self-accountability
Start small. Start today.
Find a cute blank notebook (or just a plain one—it doesn't have to be fancy). Take 5 minutes today and in the days to come to sit with YOU.
Journal prompts to get you started:
✍️ What are you thinking about right now?
✍️ What thoughts come up?
✍️ What fears come up?
✍️ What are your daily intentions today?
✍️ Talk to God. Release those negative feelings.
✍️ Write about your truths. Write about where you want to go.
✍️ Write some things you're grateful for.
✍️ Write about how hard it is right now.
✍️ Write a letter to someone—or to yourself (past self, future self).
✍️ Write your Best Self statement.
Morning journaling: Sets your day and gives you positive intent before your eating disorder brain clouds it. You can say, "Today, this is what I'm planning to do. This is what's on the agenda. This is my positive intent to do the right thing before that voice inside my head tells me not to."
Night journaling: Promotes more restful sleep and allows you to process all you've done. It even allows you to get out shame, unforgiveness, or negative feelings.
There's no right way. That's the fun thing. Just start.
A PERSONAL NOTE FROM LINDSEYI still have all of my journals from my years of recovery. And today it is quite amazing to look back and reflect and read my journals. I can actually remember the feelings of writing on the pages from 15+ years ago.
I can look now at that girl who was desperate for freedom, that girl who didn't believe it was possible. And I can hold her just like I'm holding you, friend. Because I know what it's like to feel those feelings and I know what it's like to find freedom from that place.
"There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside of you." - Maya Angelou
Start spending time with your mind. Start releasing what's in your mind out on paper. Because I promise that if you have been stuck, if you have been feeling like there are so many different things inside your mind and you're just not sure where to go next—the first step is to alleviate those thoughts. The first step is to rid your mind of all those thoughts.
Get them out on paper. What's true? What's not true? What's keeping you stuck? What's keeping you in fear?
I believe that journaling is one of the best things I did in my eating disorder recovery. And it can be one of the best things you do too.
NEED MORE SUPPORT? WORK WITH ME💛 ONE-ON-ONE PRIVATE RECOVERY COACHING
I have only a few slots available, but I would love to work with you one-on-one. Recovery coaching allows us to work together, and I am in your ear. This is a place where you're gonna find love, support, and truth. I'm gonna hold your hand. I'm gonna show up. I'm gonna hold you accountable so that you can show up for YOU.
If you've been struggling—giving yourself permission to recover, giving yourself permission to eat, giving yourself permission to let go of those unhealthy beliefs and behaviors—and you feel like you should know what to do but you don't know what to do at the same time... I've been there. And I wish I had a coach during my recovery process. That's why I do what I do.
👉 Go to LindseyNichol.com and fill out a client application.
~
Looking for inspiration on what to journal?
💛 Head to our private Facebook community: Hope and Healing for Eating Disorder Recovery at www.herbestselfsociety.com
💛 Check out the Her Best Self Statement in the featured area for some journaling inspiration!
🌟 Website: www.herbestself.co 🌟 Instagram: @thelindseynichol 🌟 Client Application: HBS Co. Recovery Coaching - Client Application - Google Forms
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Remember, beautiful: Your worth is not measured by how perfectly you do recovery. Healing isn't linear, progress over perfection always, and you are exactly where you need to be right now.
Her Best Self with Lindsey Nichol is a podcast for women in eating disorder recovery who are ready to break free from perfectionism, people-pleasing, and diet culture to live authentically and wholeheartedly.
*While I am a certified health coach, anorexia survivor & eating disorder recovery coach, I do not intend the use of this message to serve as medical advice. Please refer to the disclaimer here in the show & be sure to contact a licensed clinical provider if you are struggling with an eating disorder.