I love the way you think H_P. If you can find a way to stop putting chemicals in your body then go for it. And dont consider surgery unless you cannot sleep, work or have a little fun. I encourage you to go the natural route!
Eat healthy, sleep, relax, work on eliminating anxiety, exercise and love :)

Abu... Have you healed a chronic fissure and kept it healed?

Yep, I certainly did. I had it for 4 years and am ok now for 9 months already. Never reverted to surgery or Botox, but then again, mine was not that deep or painful like other sufferers around here.
Recently, i only take softeners sporadically based on experience.

Anything you started doing in particular that helped with your healing? Did you use any ointment?

Did you have to take stool softeners a long time and now take them sporadically or did you heal without taking them?

I took them continuously for 4 years. Ointments I tried them all but I doubt they had any effect. Diet and mindset is what worked for me.

Did you heal while still taking stool softener or did you stop and just focus on diet and mindset and get better? What's your best diet advice? If you stayed on stool softener what kind did you use? How long did you stay on it once healed? How did you work yourself off of it?

I stopped softeners after I thought my fissure site is strong enough to handle harder BMs, that is about 6 months since the last bleeding.
I never took anything except vitamin C or magnesium citrate throughout the years. Diet is different for anyone, I belive in eating a variety of foods as long as they are not highly processed. The only rules I live by are reduced sugar intake, low fiber (which kind of excludes grains} and peeled veggies /fruits. This is it.

Abu... How much magnesium citrate did you take a day and how much vitamin C? That sounds like a much healthier alternative than Miralax. Did you take them together or at different times during the day?

I never took them both the same day. Either magnesium 600mg before bed or vitamin c 2.5 g before bed, on empty stomach.