A Journey to Self Discovery
One thing that I hadn't considered as part of my recovery from anorexia was who I would be without that part of me.
Although I was 18 when I was first diagnosed with anorexia, I'd been struggling with my body image since I was 13. So, I never really had the opportunity to know “me” without an eating disorder.
Trying to figure out who I was, what I liked, what was important to me and ultimately who I wanted to be felt really overwhelming in my 40s. It was scary, and I wasn't always sure how to figure out what I wanted versus what I thought other people might want for me.
But as my recovery continued, I began to realise that recovery wasn't only about learning to live without an eating disorder. It was also about rediscovering myself and what I wanted from my life. Questions that often came up with my therapist were
🌸 Who am I?
🌸 What do I actually enjoy?
🌸 What matters to me?
🌸 What do I want my life to look like?
🌸 And perhaps most importantly, how do I begin creating a life that feels like mine?
None of these questions had quick or easy answers. Most of them took time, curiosity and a willingness to explore parts of myself that I had forgotten, overlooked or never really had the chance to discover.
That's where the idea for these three journals came from.
I've brought them together as a set of prompts that offer a journey of self-discovery. A journey from reconnecting with who you are, to exploring where you might want to go, and finally considering how you might begin bringing those discoveries into everyday life. As I found, many of the questions may not have immediate answers and that is perfectly OK – the great thing about them is that you get to work with them in a way that feels right for you.
The first journal, “Rediscovering Your Core” is about turning inward and getting curious about the person you are. It's an invitation to explore your identity, values, strengths, joys and the parts of yourself that make you you.
The second, “Finding Your Direction”, invites you to explore your dreams, desires, passions and the things that matter most to you — without needing to have everything figured out.
And the third journal, “Aligned Action” is designed to help you move from reflection to action. It's an opportunity to explore the choices, boundaries, habits, small steps and ways of living that might help you create a life that feels more aligned with who you are.
There is no right or wrong way to use these journals
You might move through them from beginning to end. You might spend weeks with one journal and only a few pages with another.
You might return to the same prompt more than once, skip something that doesn't feel relevant, or simply choose the questions that resonate with you at the time. And, there is no need to complete them in a particular timeframe.
These journals aren't about completing a set of workbooks or getting to the end as quickly as possible. They are simply an invitation to pause, get curious about yourself and explore.
There is no perfect way to rediscover yourself. This is your journey.
You simply need to be curious and compassionate enough to connect with yourself in a way that, maybe, you never have before.