Share Your Recovery Story

We’re so excited that you’re considering sharing your mental health story with us. We truly believe that mental health storytelling is what helps move the needle as far as changing people’s perception about mental health and the people in their own world who live with these challenges. Please take some time to think about what we’ve written here about submitting to us, working with us, and publishing with us. One thing to think about before putting your mental health recovery story out there into the world is that you don’t have to. Lots of times, people feel compelled to share publicly, maybe before they’re ready, and that can have very negative, long-term effects. Because we take SEO (search engine optimization) very seriously, your essay may very well be the first thing individuals (current or prospective employers, potential romantic partners, friends, family members, etc) will find upon searching your name. This is part of the reality of living in the digital age; nothing on the Internet ever goes away — ever. To that end, we at Recovery Diaries will respectfully decline to delete an essay once it is published (except for emergency situations) so consider your decision to submit to us carefully, and please weigh the pros and cons of pursuing publication with Recovery Diaries. You might not be ready to publish under your real and full name, which we require, and that is fine; other publications publish anonymous or pseudonymous work.

So think about yourself and where you are in your journey, and make the choice that’s best for you.

However, if you are ready, here are some things for you to know before you submit to us:

Please send all inquiries to our team at submissions@recoverydiaries.org. All content must be original and unpublished anywhere else, including personal blogs.

Whether you are sending a completed written work or you are sending links to original videos, music, or artwork, please also include a paragraph in your email introducing yourself and a summary of your mental health recovery journey.
Essays (approximately 1,200–1,500 words in length) should be copied and pasted in the body of the email below your introduction and summary of your journey.
As part of our mission to bust stigma and combat the shame and secrecy that so often surrounds mental health challenges, Recovery Diaries does not accept anonymous or pseudonymous submissions. All contributors are expected to attach their real and full name to their contributions, including photos to complement their contributions.
We offer a $250 honorarium for accepted posts, payable upon publication. Authors are paid via check. If you are an international author in a country where payment via check from an American company is problematic, you must either have an account with a bank that will accommodate a direct wire transfer, or you must have a PayPal account in order to be paid. We cannot make other payment arrangements.
All contributors must sign an agreement that gives us permission to post your contribution on Recovery Diaries, on our social media platforms, and in any associated future projects in perpetuity. All of the rights for music, images, and other media must be cleared by you in advance of publication.
All authors who are published on Recovery Diaries are asked to wait six months post-publication date prior to submitting another contribution to ensure Recovery Diaries continues to offer a diverse array of voices, stories, and content.

Finally; do NOT, under any circumstances, submit Chat GPT/AI-generated work. We run all submissions through multiple AI detectors and not only will an AI-generated essay not be accepted, we will not accept any future submissions from you. We compensate people fairly for their authentic, personal story, and that’s all we want here. We don’t edit with AI, we edit with humans, and we want to work with humans. Period.

If we are interested in working with you to develop your piece into a Recovery Diaries essay, you will hear from us in 4 – 6 weeks with information on next steps. Regrettably, due to the volume of submissions we receive, we are only able to respond to those authors we intend to feature on the site. If you do not hear from us within 4 – 6 weeks, you may assume that your proposal is not the right fit for Recovery Diaries, and you are welcome to submit another proposal at that time.