Eating Disorders & Other Shadowy Companions

Living with an eating disorder can be a lonely, isolating experience.

This beautiful, highly-visual tool aims to support young people and adults to bridge the isolation by sharing their experience with family, friends, teachers, counsellors, and other health professionals.

Guided by three delightfully-engaging characters—Reggie the Recovery Rhino, Ed the Eating Disorder Monster and Bird—each card features an illustration to help people reflect on and express what it feels like to live with an eating disorder, and a question to gently suggest ways forward.

A resource for hearing and validating before shifting the focus to recovery.

What does it feel like to live with an eating disorder? What does the ‘eating disorder voice’ say and how do we challenge those messages? What supports recovery and what gets in the way? How can we help reduce the isolation and shame surrounding eating disorders?

These are some of the questions that are guiding the current development of a set of cards called Eating Disorders & Other Shadowy Companions.  Due for release early next year, this resource is for people living with an eating disorder and those who walk alongside them—family, friends, counsellors, teachers and health professionals.

The lead author is Danni McDougall, an art therapist and senior mental health practitioner.