Eating Disorders & other Shadowy Companions

Living with an eating disorder can be a lonely, isolating experience, with secrecy, and feelings of shame, often exacerbating the problem.

Eating Disorders & Other Shadowy Companions is a soulful, beautifully illustrated resource that empowers people to share their experiences with family, friends, teachers, counsellors, and health professionals.

These 40 hand-drawn cards stimulate conversations about what it feels like to live with an eating disorder, what helps, and what makes things harder. The cards include three characters—ED the eating disorder ‘monster, Reggie the recovery rhino, and Bird, the ‘every-person’ character— and a simple question.

PLUS, these cards can be used to describe other ‘shadowy companions’ that may accompany an eating disorder, like addiction, depression and anxiety.

Eating Disorders & Other Shadowy Companions is equally valuable for use with individuals and groups.

• 40 laminated, spot-colour cards (160mm x 140mm) in a sturdy folio box

BONUS: Free access to the Eating Disorders Digital Toolbox

• Digital version of the cards and a digital booklet full of ideas for using the cards
• Extra support resources including ideas bank, card hacks and blogs

To access the digital card set and toolbox, simply create a customer account. All digital products follow our Digital Usage Policy – see Copyright and Digital Usage for details.

• Getting started: Do any of the cards represent how you have been feeling lately? Pick a card that represents something you’d like to focus on today. Pick a card that represents something you’d most like to change. Pick a card that represents a way forward.
• Self-reflection: Which card represents something you haven’t thought about before? Which card represents something you would like other people to understand?
• Pairing cards: Choose two cards you think complement each other. Why? Choose two cards you think have opposite meanings. How are they different? Do you experience both of these opposites as well? What causes your experience to shift from one to the other?

For more inspiration, explore our Ideas Bank.