The Healthy Writer by Joanna Penn

The Healthy Writer by Joanna Penn

Do you suffer from physical pain relating to your writing life?

Are you struggling with back pain, weight gain related to sedentary working, anxiety, depression, sleep problems, neck pain, eye strain, stress, loneliness, digestive issues, or Repetitive Strain Injury?

These are the most common issues reported by writers and if you struggle with any of them, you are not alone.

Writing is not a physically healthy job, but if you want a long-term writing career, then you need to look after your body.

I've been through my own pain journey over the last six years. I used to get crippling migraines that sent me to a dark room, and back pain so bad that I couldn't sleep, as well as stress levels so high that I wasn't able to breathe normally.

Now, my back pain, migraines and RSI have almost gone completely, and I manage my writing life in a far healthier way than ever before. I share my personal journey and insights with you in this book.

My co-author is Dr Euan Lawson, who shares his insights into how we can reduce pain, improve health and build a writing career for the long term.

The book covers:

• Introduction and survey results from 1200 writers
• 7 reasons why writing is great for your health

Part 1: The Unhealthy Writer

• Stress, anxiety, burnout
• Back, neck and shoulder pain
• A personal journey to a pain-free back
• Repetitive Strain Injury (RSI)
• Writing with chronic pain
• Sedentary life and inactivity
• Sleep problems and insomnia
• Eye strain, headaches, and migraine
• A personal story of headaches and migraine
• Loneliness and isolation
• Weight gain or weight loss
• Joanna's Letter to Sugar
• Digestive issues and IBS
• A personal journey through IBS with FODMAP
• Mood and mental health
• Riding the waves: Writing with depression - by Dan Holloway
• Alcohol: The good, the bad, and the ugly
• Coffee and caffeine
• Supplements, substances, and nootropics

Part 2: The Healthy Writer

• Improve your workspace
• Sort out your sleep
• Sort out your diet
• From fat to fit
• Sort out your back
• Lessons learned about writing from yoga
• How to use dictation for a healthier writing life
• The active writer mindset
• Strategies for the sofa-bound
• The active writer: Three golden rules
• The running writer: Three rookie mistakes
• Lessons learned about writing from walking 100km in a weekend
• Find a community
• Build well-being with mindfulness
• Develop healthy habits for the long-term

Conclusion: Your turn, choose life

It's time to be a healthy writer

Euan Lawson is a General Practitioner, with special focus on community drug clinics. Dr Lawson serves as Deputy Editor of the British Journal of General Practice, and as Editor-in-Chief at the Harm Reduction Journal.Dr Lawson writes the Clinical Update for Substance Misuse Management in General Practice (SMMGP) - a bi-monthly 3,000 word summary of new research on substance misuse issues relevant to primary care. He has contributed a regular column for the Medical Protection Society in their publication Practice Matters.In the field of medical education, Dr Lawson serves as Director of Community Studies at Lancaster Medical School. Whilst undergraduate education is his core role, this has recently expanded into postgraduate education - he's currently the Chairman of the RCGP Cumbria Faculty and a Faculty Representative on the RCGP Council. He has also delivered a regular clinical update session at the RCGP/SMMGP annual drug and alcohol conference. From 2006 to 2014 Dr Lawson was the GP Appraisal Lead at Cumbria PCT.