Recovery Compass
Fear to Courage Recovery Compass™
Find the Support That Fits Where You Are Today
Living with Body Dysmorphic Disorder can leave you wondering what kind of support would be most useful right now. The Fear to Courage Recovery Compass™ is a free, evidence-informed support guide designed for adults who recognize they have BDD and want clearer next steps.
Identify the right support for where you are today. For the best experience, download the Recovery Compass and open it in Adobe Acrobat on a computer or in the Adobe Acrobat mobile app. Get the free Adobe Acrobat Reader here.
What the Recovery Compass Can Help You Do
- Reflect on Your Needs: Answer 20 brief statements based on how you feel now.
- Find Your Direction: Identify the type of support that may be most helpful.
- Choose Next Steps: Review practical recommendations for your current needs.
- Revisit It Later: Your direction may change as your recovery journey changes.
Complete the Compass in Three Easy Steps
1. Respond to Each Statement using Agree, Sometimes, or Disagree
Respond based on your current feelings and needs—not how you felt in the past. There are no right or wrong answers.
2. Find Your Primary Compass Direction
Add your responses for North, East, West, and South. Your strongest direction identifies a current support priority.
3. Review Your Next Steps
Read the recommendations for your direction and choose the next steps for where you are today.
Who Is the Compass For?
The Recovery Compass was created for people who recognize they have Body Dysmorphic Disorder and want help deciding what type of support may be most useful now.
The Recovery Compass provides valuable information and resources personalized for your needs:
- Where to find information so you can understand BDD symptoms
- How to put coping and recovery skills into practice
- The benefits of peer support if you feel isolated or misunderstood
- Where to get help if BDD is interfering with your life
- Next steps on your BDD recovery journey
What Will You Receive?
The PDF includes the assessment, simple scoring instructions, an explanation of all four directions, and recommended next steps.
- Twenty brief statements
- Four support directions
- A primary support priority
- Practical recommendations
- Space to reflect on your results
- Support that fits the person
You Support Needs Change Over Time
Someone who is new to understanding BDD may need different support from someone who is practicing treatment skills, seeking community, or struggling to function safely. The Recovery Compass helps you begin with the support that best matches where you are today.
Your result is not a permanent identity. Your needs can change over time, and more than one direction may matter. Use the Compass as a guide—not a judgment about how well you are doing.
Created from Research, Lived Experience, and Years of BDD Support
Eva Fisher, PhD, founder of Fear to Courage, created the Recovery Compass™ to help people with Body Dysmorphic Disorder answer an important question: What kind of support might help me most right now?
Dr. Eva Fisher brings together research, lived experience, and years of work in the BDD community.
Her doctoral research explored peer support for people with BDD. She is also the author of The BDD Family: Coping with Body Dysmorphic Disorder in a Peer Support Group.
Her understanding of BDD is personal, too. Dr. Eva Fisher lived with BDD for 15 years and recovered more than 20 years ago.
Today, she supports people affected by BDD through Fear to Courage education, peer support groups, community programs, and recovery coaching.
These experiences inspired a key idea behind the Recovery Compass:
People with BDD may need different kinds of support at different points in their recovery journey.
The Compass helps you identify what type of support may be most helpful for where you are today.
Important Notice
The Fear to Courage Recovery Compass™ is not intended for diagnosing Body Dysmorphic Disorder. Please contact a qualified mental health treatment provider for a BDD diagnosis.
The Compass is meant for support purposes only and does not replace professional mental health care. Fear to Courage education, peer support, community, and coaching are designed to complement—not
substitute for—appropriate treatment.
The Recovery Compass was developed with input from people with lived experience of BDD and continues to be refined based on user feedback.
If you feel unsafe, are considering suicide, or are in emotional distress, call or text the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988. If there is immediate danger, contact local emergency services.
Discover the Support You Need Today
Complete the free Fear to Courage Recovery Compass™ Guide and use your results as a starting point for choosing the next step on your BDD recovery journey.
Identify the right support for where you are today. The Compass is not a diagnosis or a measure of symptom severity. For the best experience, download the Recovery Compass and open it in Adobe Acrobat on a computer or in the Adobe Acrobat mobile app. Some browser PDF viewers may not save your responses correctly.