I can’t believe it’s been two years since I started my eating disorder recovery blog! It’s surreal to think of how far I’ve come since that first blog post, where I explained my rationale for talking about eating disorder recovery during the pandemic. I can still remember how nerve-wracking it felt to hit “publish” for the first time. I remember wondering if people would view me differently for being open about my eating disorder or if anyone would even read my blog.
Well, neither of those fears came true. If anything, I’ve been praised for my vulnerability and openness. The reality is that I didn’t start this blog to “shine a light” or “raise awareness.” I got to the point where holding my eating disorder secret was doing more harm than good. I felt I wasn’t being my authentic self. I wanted to burst from the shame and self-stigma I had buried myself in.
These days I’ve been moving away from calling myself a blogger. To me, it didn’t sound “professional” enough. That isn’t true. Blogging takes a lot of thankless, gruelling work. It takes time and patience to build a following, and many bloggers end up giving up. The bloggers I admire have been at it through thick and thin, constantly learning and creating and growing.
I’m so proud to call myself a blogger. Two years has flown by, and I’ll sure there will be many, many more blogging anniversaries to come.
The impact of my eating disorder recovery blog
Who doesn’t love a deep dive into Google Analytics? I took a look at some of the highlights over the past 24 months:
- Nearly 20,000 page views! That’s unreal.
Visitors from close to 100 countries around the world! (97 to be exact, including Nigeria, Taiwan, Peru and Aruba)
Average session duration of 1 minute and 42 seconds and 2.04 pages per session (not bad!)
- Top five most-read blog posts:
Kind things people have said
One of my biggest fears was negative feedback, where I’d be told I didn’t know what I was talking about or I’d be personally attacked for my opinions. Fortunately, it’s been more of the opposite: I’ve received countless positive notes that I never expected.
I’ve been overwhelmed with the kind and thoughtful messages people have shared, whether through social media, leaving comments or via email. When I say I read ALL of them, I mean I read all of them (so please never hesitate to reach out!).
Here are a few standouts that I wanted to highlight:
- From Twitter: “Came across your blog – also a working Toronto female professional struggling with an eating disorder, so appreciate your candor and vulnerability and strength :)”
- From LinkedIn: “I look forward to following your blog and commend you for sharing this experience. My daughter is a ‘recovered’ AN and I use quotes as I know very well how an ED can re-enter and disrupt a person’s life.”
- From Instagram: “I’m so happy for you Chloe. Such great service you’re doing for the world.”
- From my email inbox: “Hi Chloe, I am the mother of an adult daughter who has been struggling with anorexia for many years. Thank you for all your hard work educating others about eating disorders. There are so many misconceptions about eating disorders that need to addressed. Your work talking to students at universities and colleges will be invaluable.”
Beyond blogging: Speaking, facilitating and teaching
Blogging was the seed that started the growth of my eating disorder recovery business, as I went from a mental health blogger to a lived experience speaker to a workshop facilitator, to who knows what next. But blogging gave me a base to see what topics were of most interest.
I realized that parents and university students were a huge audience, and that journaling was a topic that people really wanted to hear more about. I often refer back to blog posts during my talks; for example, the post on eating disorders in the workplace really seemed to resonate with folks on LinkedIn and spoke to a larger issue of how workplaces don’t recognize EDs as an “adult” illness.
If you’re looking to have me speak to your class or workplace, check out my Services page to see all the different ways I can help get the message across.
What does the next year of blogging look like?
I’ve been blogging less often because I’ve been busier with other things, but I’d like to get back into the routine of posting more. Why? Because it’s fun! I genuinely love the whole process: from drafting up posts, to designing graphics to promoting on social media. It’s rewarding and such a great creative outlet.
I’ve also loved the supportive community of other bloggers, especially mental health bloggers. It’s never felt competitive or draining. Instead, it’s been an uplifting and inspiring group of people who genuinely want to help others.
Plus, I’d love to start creating courses and tips on how to help aspiring bloggers share their eating disorder stories in a responsible and trauma-informed manner! Is this something that sparks interest for you? Shoot me a message or leave a comment, if so.
When I started this eating disorder recovery blog, I had few expectations for what it would become. And now that I’ve been on this journey for a solid two years, I’m ready for more! Blogging has sharpened my writing skills, flexed my creative muscles and given me so much appreciation for all the content creators out there. Sharing our stories is so, so important.
Mostly, I’m grateful for readers like you who make the time to read to the end of my posts. Who take the time to leave insightful comments. Who even go as far as sharing my blog posts on social media for their network to see.
I’m honoured and humbled to be viewed nearly 20,000 times by people all over the world who in some way have connected with my eating disorder recovery. Thank you. 
Congratulations Chloe on two years of blogger. Your honesty and openness is refreshing and appreciated. Educating others about eating disorders and the many misconceptions about them is vital to allowing people with eating disorders to receive compassion that they deserve. Thank you for all your hard work. It is so important!
Thanks so much for the kind words, Nadine! This really means a lot and it’s incredibly rewarding to see the impact of my eating disorder recovery blog. I appreciate you taking the time to read and learn from my lived experience.
So cool to see all of the things you’ve accomplished! I can’t wait to see you bring to life all of your 2023 goals!
Thank you Kira! I’m so excited to see what the next year brings as well for my eating disorder recovery blog!