Holiday Eating Disorder Recovery Coping Skill: COPE AHEAD from a New Jersey Eating Disorder Therapist
- Gabrielle Morreale
- Dec 18, 2025
- 4 min read
Updated: Dec 20, 2025
By: Gabby Morreale, M.A. LPC.
A gentle, evidence-based tool to support you through a challenging holiday season.
The holidays can bring joy - but also a lot of overwhelm when you’re navigating eating
disorder recovery. Food-centered gatherings, family dynamics, change in routines, and food and body comments can be challenging.
One helpful, clinically recognized skill that as an eating-disorder therapist, I like to use during the holiday season is COPE AHEAD, a DBT skill that helps you emotionally prepare before a stressful situation. Cope Ahead can help reduce anxiety, support regulation, and help you stay grounded in recovery.
C – Create the Scenario
Start by pausing, breathe in, and breathe out. Plant your feet into the ground, feel your breath fill your body, and feel it release slowly. Do that a few more times until your body is calm. Then slowly let your brain imagine the situation that feels stressful.
Some examples we often hear from clients that are rather stressful are:
A holiday dinner with unfamiliar foods
Seeing relatives who comment on bodies or weight
Feeling pressure to eat more or less
Navigating buffet-style meals
Managing guilt after eating
Naming the scenario reduces emotional ambiguity and allows you to prepare with self-
compassion.
Helpful resources for this step:
Recovered and Restored Therapy → https://www.recoveredandrestoredtherapy.com
Recovered and Restored Therapy Self-compassion blog →
Within Health Support Articles → https://withinhealth.com/learn
O – Outline What You Can Do
Now that you may be feeling some distress, pause and decide which coping tools you’ll use when/if the moment or moments happen.
Consider:
Eating consistently earlier in the day (following your meal plan)
Sitting with someone who feels safe
Being radically honest with yourself when you are not doing ok.
Planning a grounding strategy (breathing, sensory tools, stepping outside)
Practicing boundaries around food or body comments
Identifying a quiet space to reset
Saying No or canceling if needed. You’re allowed to put yourself first this holiday season
and always!
This may help establish structure and safety before you enter the holiday environment.
More guidance:
Balance Eating Disorder Treatment Center → https://balancedtx.com
Center for Discovery Holiday Resources → https://centerfordiscovery.com/blog
Monte Nido Eating Disorder Support → https://www.montenido.com/blog
P – Practice Coping in Your Mind
Visualize yourself successfully moving through the moment. You are braver than you give
yourself credit for. Spend some time grounding and deep breathing while picturing yourself having a successful holiday season.
This may look like:
Taking a slow breath before sitting down
Responding calmly to triggering comments
Asking for support
Staying connected to recovery values
Choosing compassion instead of perfection
Mental rehearsal can be empowering and increases your sense of capability. You’ve got this!
Mindfulness tools:
The Eating Disorder Center → https://theeatingdisordercenter.com
National Alliance for Eating Disorders → https://www.allianceforeatingdisorders.com
E – Empower Your Body (Rehearse Physically)
Try the coping strategies in advance this way your brain and body will recognize them as safe and effective.
You might:
Practice grounding breathwork
Rehearse your boundary scripts
Use a sensory item
Ask a support person for what you need
Your nervous system learns through repetition - this step builds regulation. This is called
neuroplasticity. As an eating disorder therapist, I often remind clients that if we practice coping skills when we are not struggling, then they are much easier for our brain and body to access when we are struggling.
Body-based grounding resources:
Equip Health → https://equip.health
Renfrew Center Articles → https://renfrewcenter.com/articles
AHEAD – Plan for Aftercare
Aftercare helps you transition out of stressful experiences with gentleness. Whether this is a relaxing night in or a phone call with a safe friend, whatever it looks like, make sure you are taking care of yourself this season.
Some ideas to try:
A grounding walk
Cozy rest time
Journaling
Talking to a trusted friend or therapist
A balanced snack later (if part of your plan)
Listening to calming music or a meditation
Aftercare is not optional — it’s part of recovery.
Aftercare support:
Recovered and Restored Therapy → https://www.recoveredandrestoredtherapy.com
Eating Recovery Center → https://www.eatingrecoverycenter.com
Recovery Warriors → https://www.recoverywarriors.com
Why COPE AHEAD Works for Holiday ED Recovery
As an eating disorder survivor and therapist COPE AHEAD is one of my favorite skills! It is
helpful and can be powerful because it:
Helps to reduce anticipatory anxiety
Supports your central nervous system
Encourages practice and preparation
Cultivates elf-trust
Enhances your recovery
Builds distress tolerance around challenging situations
The holidays do not have to derail your recovery. With preparation, support, and compassion, you can navigate the season with steadiness and even some holiday cheer. You’ve got this!
Other Mental Health Services Offered in PA, NJ, DE, SC, MD, CT, VT, and FL
We offer a wide variety of services related to eating disorder recovery including trauma therapy! We offer Weekly Support Groups, Nutrition Services, and Family and Parent Therapy as well as Coaching, all tailored to meet the specific needs of the individual. We offer our services for Anorexia, Bulimia, Binge Eating, and Orthorexia as well as Maternal Mental Health, and eating disorder therapy for athletes online in New Jersey, Delaware, South Carolina, Maryland, Florida, Vermont, and Connecticut! We are here to offer our support and understanding in a safe and non-judgmental environment.
We have immediate openings right now for eating disorder therapy in:
Delaware, New Jersey, Florida, Maryland South Carolina, Connecticut, Vermont, and Pennsylvania.
And recovery coaching worldwide.
Recovered and Restored is an eating disorder therapy center founded by Gabrielle Morreale, LPC. We specialize in helping teens and young women heal from eating disorders such as anorexia, bulimia, orthorexia, and binge eating disorder and treat disordered eating, anxiety, depression, and PTSD. We provide eating disorder therapy in the towns of Horsham, Upper Gwynedd, Lower Gwynedd, North Wales, Lansdale, Hatfield, Blue Bell, Doylestown, and nearby towns with eating disorder therapy. Also providing virtual eating disorder therapy in New Jersey, Delaware, and Florida. Some towns served virtually but are not limited to Pittsburg, Lancaster, Harrisburg, Center City, Cherry Hill, Haddonfield, Mount Laurel, Cape May, Avalon, Brick, Dover, New Castle, Bethany Beach, Marydel, and Oceanview
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