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Exposure Response Prevention: Clothes Shopping Challenge Sessions

For a person with an Eating Disorder, aside from the food-centered mindset, what you weigh, and how you look have probably become more important than who you are. The Eating Disorder Recovery process explores all the facets of the notion of change with body changes being in the forefront. Reframing the way we perceive and approach our body is fundamental. Working on acceptance of your natural body shape and size, with food and weight taking a proper perspective in your life and learning how actual numbers can have little or no importance at all can be a difficult but not an impossible task.

Cloth shopping in itself can be quite an emotional and distressing experience for some, as it challenges body image issues in various ways. This is where the cloth shopping sessions come in as another exposure and response prevention. 

These sessions can be done virtually or in-person, and they are designed to help you navigate all challenges and triggers that may arise in the process such as: body dissatisfaction and body size concerns, comparison to others, judgement and negative body talk, etc. They provide a window for redefining your relationship with your body and how the mere experience of shopping cloths to dress your body can actually become a fun and liberating one. They promote acceptance and explore resistance relative to natural weight, body and size, while also challenging societal standards.

Annie Markitanis © 2024. All Rights Reserved.

An Eating Disorder Recovery Coach is not a replacement for a therapist, dietician, or medical or mental health professional, and thus, I cannot provide medical, nutritional, psychological, or other services designated for practice by a medical or mental health professional. My role functions as an adjunct to your treatment team, and my services complement and support those of your primary care providers as I am dealing with unique issues and circumstances that other team members cannot perform due to time constraints, legal parameters, or lack of specific training. As a Recovered Eating Disorder Coach, I help individuals reach their treatment goals in real-life situations, providing support, and appropriate challenges, and serving as both a role model and a guide. I am trained on how to work with the eating disorder population, in both an individual and group setting, to help facilitate growth and behavior change related to recovery.

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