Recovery from an eating disorder can feel overwhelming – full of emotional ups and downs. But what if something as simple as putting pen to paper could help you make sense of your feelings and move forward? That’s where therapeutic letter writing comes in.
Writing letters can be a powerful tool in your recovery journey. It helps you process emotions, express thoughts that might be too difficult to say out loud, and reflect on your progress in a safe, non-confrontational way.
Whether you’re just beginning treatment or are further along in your treatment, Dr. Amy Harrison, a Senior Psychologist with Altum Health and an Associate Professor at UCL, explains how this simple practice can be a game-changer.
What is therapeutic letter writing?
Therapeutic letter writing is a form of expressive writing that invites you to explore your thoughts, feelings, and experiences through written words.
While it’s similar to journaling, therapeutic letters often have a specific focus – whether it’s writing to your eating disorder, your past or future self, a loved one, or a healthcare professional involved in your treatment.
What are the benefits of expressive writing in therapy?
Therapeutic letter writing can help you express things that might be too difficult to say out loud, allowing you to communicate in a way that feels safer and more manageable.
Research by psychologist James Pennebaker has shown that writing about difficult experiences can help people recover from stress, illness, and trauma more quickly.
This form of writing helps you process emotions by getting them out on paper, which often reduces their emotional intensity.
For those living with an eating disorder, this could mean writing down your thoughts on your relationship with food, your body, or even your fears about recovery. It helps you expose yourself to difficult emotions in a way that feels less overwhelming.
Who can benefit from therapeutic letter writing?
Broadly speaking, therapeutic letter writing is a valuable tool for various mental health illnesses including eating disorders, depression, anxiety, and trauma.
- It can be particularly helpful if you find it hard to verbalise your thoughts – it’s another form of communication through which to share and make sense of things with your therapist.
- It’s also useful if you feel ‘stuck’ in your illness – expressive writing exercises help to bring creativity into therapy and act as a means to explore emotions.
When should you embark on therapeutic letter writing?
At Altum Health, our licensed therapists encourage healing through letter writing at any stage of eating disorder treatment:
- Early in recovery: Letter writing in the early stages of eating disorder recovery can help to explore your relationship with your eating disorder, uncover underlying emotions, and set goals. It’s also a helpful way of exploring alternative perspectives.
For example, a letter to yourself about your eating disorder could help you to better understand how your illness has impacted your life and relationships. Writing letters to your eating disorder as a friend or foe, helps you to acknowledge what it may have provided you while also recognising its impact.
- Midway through treatment: Letter writing can also be used to challenge negative thoughts and encourage self-reflection.
Writing to your past or future self can reinforce how far you’ve come and set intentions for the future – perhaps envisioning a life where your eating disorder no longer plays a central role.
- Later stages of recovery: Integrating writing into therapy can be a useful tool for both you and your therapist.
Writing a letter to your therapist can help to provide a summary of the work that’s been done, the impact it’s had, and what you liked or didn’t like. Having a written log of your journey is quite meaningful and can be a useful resource to draw on if times become hard again in the future.
How can letter writing help with eating disorder recovery?
Eating disorders often provide perceived safety and predictability. The illness becomes a way of coping with intense or uncomfortable emotions, which is often hard to let go of.
However, part of eating disorder recovery is challenging this and encouraging a different perspective. Therapeutic letter writing is a tool that allows you to step back, reflect, and gain different perspectives:
- What would life be like if your eating disorder was no longer there?
- How would your relationships change if food and body image no longer dominated your thoughts?
- How has your eating disorder impacted your friendships and how does that make you feel?
This process provides a safe way to explore the discomfort of change and the scope to imagine a different reality, one where your eating disorder isn’t around. It can also help to build self-compassion – letters to yourself can encourage kindness and gratitude.
What should you include in a therapeutic letter?
There are no rules with therapeutic letter writing. It could start with a specific question, be quite broad, or perhaps even take the form of a poem. Just see what comes. If you’re struggling to put pen to paper, here are some ideas:
- Write to your eating disorder: Is your eating disorder a friend or foe? Write a letter from both perspectives to explore what it’s provided you with and what it’s taken from you.
- Imagine your life without the eating disorder: How would your relationships, self-image, and daily life look like if your eating disorder no longer had control?
- Express gratitude: Write to someone who has supported you in your recovery, or even to yourself, showing compassion and acknowledging your progress.
- Describe your day or experiences: This could be a simple journaling exercise, reflecting on what you’ve learnt, how you felt, and what you might do differently next time.
- Talk to your future self: Imagine yourself fully recovered from your eating disorder – what advice would you give?
Five tips for getting started with therapeutic writing
If the act of letter writing feels daunting, here are a few tips to help with the process:
- Write without judgment: Don’t worry about making your letter perfect – the goal is to express yourself, not produce a work of great fiction.
- Start small: Something is better than nothing. Reduce your expectations, start with a single sentence or thought, and let your writing unfold naturally.
- Pick your moment: Whether it’s morning or evening, choose a time you can sit with your thoughts – a time that works for you to be reflective.
- Let it flow: Don’t overthink it. Write freely using whichever format you’re most comfortable with and see where it takes you.
- Be kind to yourself: The writing process is meant to be a healing tool. A playful way of exploring your thoughts and feelings. Try not to rush it or expect perfection.
Should you send the letter or keep it?
One of the most common questions about therapeutic letter writing is whether to share the letter or keep it for yourself.
In many cases, the act of writing the letter is enough. Getting your feelings and thoughts on paper can be incredibly cathartic, helping to make sense of things and process powerful emotions that might otherwise feel too overwhelming.
However, sometimes sharing your letter creates a meaningful step in your recovery. You could choose to share your letter with your therapist, a loved one, or even someone you’ve written to directly.
Sharing your letter could help you open up in ways you might not have been able to before. Just remember it’s your decision, and it should only ever be done with your consent.
Integrating writing into therapy
Therapeutic letter writing can be a helpful tool as part of eating disorder recovery.
Dr June Alexander, who recovered from anorexia nervosa as an adult, shares her experience of using therapeutic writing as a recovery tool and resource, both on her website and in her book, Using Writing as a Therapy for Eating Disorders: The Diary Healer.
If you’re living with an eating disorder and would like to understand how our licensed and trained professionals can support you, please reach out. You can book a free, 20-minute consultation with us by clicking here.
Take care,
Disclaimer
In rare cases, it might not be safe to write things down – such as if you’re dealing with some types of trauma or domestic abuse. Speak with your therapist about what feels right for you.
If you are experiencing domestic abuse, help is available. Contact the Domestic Abuse Helpline on 0808 2000 247.
