MY BODY KINDNESS JOURNAL Screen-reader accessible text edition A deck of 12 journaling cards with prompts for exploring a gentler relationship with your body, setting boundaries, and unlearning weight stigma. This text edition preserves the journaling prompts and written content from the deck. Blank writing areas in the original deck are represented as prompts for the reader to enter their response. PAGE 1 COVER My body kindness journal. A deck of 12 journaling cards with prompts for exploring a gentler relationship with your body, setting boundaries, and unlearning weight stigma. End of page. PAGE 2 JOURNALING PAGE — PRACTICAL SCRIPTS Practising my voice. Responding to body comments is hard. This page is a space to think through what you'd want to say — before the moment arrives. There are no wrong answers here, only yours. A comment that stayed with me - What was said or done, and where did it happen? Think of a time someone commented on your body — recently or in the past. You don't need to name who said it. - How I felt in the moment. - What I actually said or did. - Looking back — was there anything you wished you had said? End of page. PAGE 3 JOURNALING PAGE — PRACTICAL SCRIPTS Writing my own scripts. What I want to remember: - “I'd prefer you didn't…” — BOUNDARY - “That comment assumes…” — REDIRECT - “Actually I feel… let's talk about…” — EXIT Use these starters to write your own responses in your own voice. After exploring this, what is one thing you want to carry with you — a reminder, a phrase, a feeling? “You don't owe anyone a response. But you deserve to have the words, just in case.” End of page. PAGE 4 JOURNALING PAGE — WHAT IS WEIGHT STIGMA? Have I experienced weight stigma? Recognising it in my own life. Weight stigma can be so common that we stop noticing it. This page is an invitation to look back — gently — and start to name what has happened to you. - Can you remember a time when you were treated differently because of your body size — by a person, an institution, or the media? Think about comments, looks, or situations where your body size shaped how you were treated. - Where it happened. - How it made me feel. End of page. PAGE 5 JOURNALING PAGE — WHAT IS WEIGHT STIGMA? Naming the impact. - Has experiencing weight stigma changed anything about how you see your body, or what you allow yourself to do? - Is there something you have avoided — a place, an activity, a conversation — because of how you feared your body would be judged? Weight stigma doesn't just sting in the moment — it can shape how we see ourselves over time. Knowing that weight stigma is a systemic problem — not a personal failure — can shift things. If you knew that the judgment you experienced said nothing about your worth — what would you do differently? “What happened to you was not your fault. Naming it is an act of power.” End of page. PAGE 6 JOURNALING PAGE — RECOGNISING MICROAGGRESSIONS The comments that linger. A comment that stuck. Microaggressions often don't feel dramatic enough to “count.” But they stay with us. This page is a space to take them seriously — because they deserve to be taken seriously. - What did they say? How was it framed — as a compliment, a joke, or concern? Think of something someone said about your body that was probably meant well — but didn't feel good. - What was the hidden message underneath the words — what did it imply about your body? Noticing the pattern. Microaggressions get their power from repetition. When we notice the pattern, we take back some control. - Is this something you hear often — in different forms, from different people? What does that tell you? End of page. PAGE 7 JOURNALING PAGE — RECOGNISING MICROAGGRESSIONS What I'd want to say. - Where it comes from most. - How it affects me over time. - If you could respond to that comment — freely, without worrying about the reaction — what would you say? “You were right to notice. Your discomfort was information, not oversensitivity.” End of page. PAGE 8 JOURNALING PAGE — SELF-COMPASSION Being a friend to myself. The voice in my head. How do you speak to yourself about your body? This page invites you to notice that inner voice — and gently begin to change it. - Write down a few things your inner voice says about your body — as honestly as you can. No one else will read this. We all have an internal voice that comments on our body. What does yours say? - Would you say any of these things to a close friend? What does that tell you? The friend rewrite. Imagine a friend came to you feeling exactly as you do about their body. What would you say to them? Write what you would say to that friend — with all the warmth and honesty you'd genuinely offer them. End of page. PAGE 9 JOURNALING PAGE — SELF-COMPASSION A compassionate phrase — just for me. “You have always deserved kindness. Especially from yourself.” Self-compassion doesn't require perfection. It just requires one small shift at a time. - “This is hard, and that's okay…” — WHEN I STRUGGLE - “I am not alone in feeling…” — WHEN I FEEL ASHAMED - “Something I can say to myself…” — MY OWN PHRASE End of page. PAGE 10 JOURNALING PAGE — DIET CULTURE Unlearning diet culture. Messages I absorbed. Diet culture speaks in a voice we often mistake for our own. This page is a space to separate the two, gently, and notice what you actually believe. - What did you learn about food, weight, and bodies growing up? Who or what taught you? Diet culture reaches us early, from family, school, media, and friends. - Where these messages came from. Noticing it now. Once you can name diet culture, you start to hear it everywhere. - Where do you still hear diet culture today, and how does it make you feel about your body? End of page. PAGE 11 JOURNALING PAGE — DIET CULTURE 2 Choosing for myself. “You are allowed to stop fixing yourself and start living.” Stepping outside diet culture does not happen at once. It happens in small choices. - What would you tell a younger version of yourself about food and her body, knowing what you know now? End of page. PAGE 12 JOURNALING PAGE — SUPPORTING A FRIEND Showing up for someone else. Support that helped me. Supporting a friend well starts with understanding what support has meant to you. This page is a space to think it through before the moment arrives. - Think of a time someone supported you well through something hard. What exactly did they do? We often already know what good support looks like, from the times we received it. - What made it feel safe. What I would want. Imagining yourself in your friend's place can guide how you show up for them. - If you were being shamed for your body, what would you most want a friend to say, or not say? End of page. PAGE 13 JOURNALING PAGE — SUPPORTING A FRIEND 2 One thing I can offer. “You cannot carry their pain for them. You can make sure they are not alone in it.” Support does not have to be grand. It has to be real and within your reach. - Name one specific, doable thing you could offer a friend who is struggling right now. End of page. PAGE 14 JOURNALING PAGE — SETTING BOUNDARIES Where I need a boundary. Where the line is missing. Boundaries often become clear in hindsight, after a conversation that left us uncomfortable. This page is a space to notice where one is missing. - Where in your life do body comments leave you uncomfortable? Who, and what is said? Discomfort is useful information. It often points to a boundary you have not yet set. - How it tends to leave me feeling. What it would sound like. A boundary is easier to hold when you have already found the words. - Write the boundary you would set, in your own voice. Keep it short and clear. End of page. PAGE 15 JOURNALING PAGE — SETTING BOUNDARIES 2 Holding it. “Protecting your peace is not selfish. It is how you keep showing up.” Setting a boundary can feel uncomfortable at first. That discomfort is not a sign you are wrong. - What makes this boundary hard to hold, and what would help you hold it anyway? End of page. PAGE 16 JOURNALING PAGE — ASSERTIVE COMMUNICATION Finding my voice. The moment I stayed quiet. Many of us were taught that staying quiet keeps the peace. This page is a space to notice the cost of that, and to practise a clearer way. - Recall a moment you stayed silent about a body comment and later wished you hadn't. What happened? We often know our assertive voice best by remembering the times we did not use it. - What I wish I had said. Saying it now. An assertive response is easier to find with time and a pen than in a tense moment. - Rewrite that moment. What would a calm, clear, assertive response have sounded like? End of page. PAGE 17 JOURNALING PAGE — ASSERTIVE COMMUNICATION 2 Passive, Assertive, Aggressive. “Protecting your peace is not selfish. It is how you keep showing up.” Naming the three modes helps you recognize which one you are reaching for. - How do passive, assertive, and aggressive each feel in your body? - Which is your habit and why? End of page. PAGE 18 JOURNALING PAGE — BODY DIVERSITY AND HEALTH Making peace with my body. The body I was taught to want. Many of us were taught to see our body as a problem. This page is a space to question that, and to notice the body you actually live in. - What body were you taught to aim for? Where did that picture come from? We absorb a narrow idea of the right body long before we choose it. - Who benefited from me wanting it? The body I actually have. Your body does things for you every day, quietly and without thanks. - What does your body let you do, feel, or experience? Write it as a list if that helps. End of page. PAGE 19 JOURNALING PAGE — BODY DIVERSITY AND HEALTH 2 A kinder measure. “Your body is not a before photo. It is where you live.” Health and worth are bigger than a shape or a number. - If you stopped measuring your body by size, what would you measure instead? End of page. PAGE 20 JOURNALING PAGE — WHERE TO FIND SUPPORT Reaching for support. What I would be reaching out about. Knowing support exists is one thing. Knowing what you need, and what gets in the way, is another. This page is a space to work that out. - If you reached out for support, what would you want help with? Try to name it plainly. Naming the thing makes it easier to ask for the right help. - What kind of support would fit. What gets in the way. Most of us have reasons, real or learned, that make asking feel hard. - What stops you from reaching out? Where did each of those reasons come from? End of page. PAGE 21 JOURNALING PAGE — WHERE TO FIND SUPPORT 2 One small step. “You are allowed to need support. You are allowed to go and find it.” Support rarely starts with a big leap. It starts with one manageable action. - What is one small, doable step you could take toward support this week? End of page. PAGE 22 JOURNALING PAGE — SPEAKING UP AS A BYSTANDER When I am the bystander. A time I stayed silent. Most of us have watched someone be body-shamed and said nothing. This page is a space to think it through, without blame, and prepare for next time. - Recall a time you witnessed body shaming and didn't speak up. What held you back? Looking back honestly helps, as long as it is done with kindness rather than blame. - What I noticed in myself. What I could have said. An interruption is easier to find when you have rehearsed it in advance. - Looking back at that moment, what is one small thing you could have said or done? End of page. PAGE 23 JOURNALING PAGE — SPEAKING UP AS A BYSTANDER 2 My ready phrase. “You will not always know what to say. You can still refuse to look away.” Having a line prepared makes it far more likely you will use it. - Write one short phrase you could keep ready for the next time you witness this. End of page. PAGE 24 JOURNALING PAGE — BODY LIBERATION What liberation means to me. What my body has cost me. Body liberation can feel abstract until you connect it to your own life. This page is a space to make it concrete and personal. - What time, energy, money, or experiences has body pressure taken from you? It helps to name what the pressure to fix your body has actually taken. - What I would reclaim. A liberated day. Imagining freedom in detail makes it easier to move toward. - Picture a day where your body simply was not a concern. What is different about it? End of page. PAGE 25 JOURNALING PAGE — BODY LIBERATION 2 One thing I can free up. “You were not put here to fix your body. You were put here to live.” Liberation is built in small, repeated choices, not in one decision. - Name one small way you could step out of body pressure, starting this week. End of page.