Writing a Goodbye Letter to Your Eating Disorder

With your journal, you have a lot to write about in terms of your eating disorder. You can 
use journaling prompts, try stream of consciousness writing, start a food log, or just 
journal your thoughts and feelings. One of the prompts that is really useful is writing a 
goodbye letter to your eating disorder. Here is more information about how and why this 
works.

How to Write the Goodbye Letter

If you have ever written a letter to someone that you weren’t meant to send, you 
understand how this works. It is the act of writing the letter that is therapeutic, not 
sending it. What you want to do is write a letter in your journal to your eating disorder. 
Imagine that your eating disorder is a person or a thing. Someone you can talk directly 
to. Someone you can be angry at for doing this to you. Talk to your eating disorder in 
any way you want, whatever makes you feel better. 

In the letter, say goodbye to your eating disorder. Tell your ED that you no longer want it 
around, that you are going to get better. You can even talk about how you are 
recovering if you want, though the length and what you include is entirely up to you.

Why it Works

This type of letter works for a few different reasons. First, the writing of the letter and by 
saying goodbye allows you to picture an eating disorder not as a part of you, but 
something else entirely. You are imagining it is a person that is hurting you. This allows 
you to create distance between your eating disorder and your own mind. The letter is 
also therapeutic by letting you be angry at something that is not yourself. You did not 
choose this, and should not treat it as if you did. Punish the eating disorder, not 
yourself.
What to do Next
You are going to keep the letter in your journal, and look back on it whenever you need 
to. You can repeat it to yourself every time you feel like you are going to have a relapse 
of your eating disorder, or add more to it as more things come to mind. You can also 
keep writing new letters, as many as necessary to find the self-care and self-awareness 
that you get from the goodbye letter.


