Build confidence,
one step at a time.
Overcoming Insecurities
This workbook contains a brief, evidence-based, cognitive-behavioral program for managing appearance anxiety. It encompasses a step-by-step guide based on exposure therapy, the gold-standard when it comes to treating anxiety, and it is designed to help you feel more confident about your appearance.
You may benefit from this program if:
You feel anxious about a specific aspect of your appearance (e.g., muscularity, fat, gynecomastia, or body part like chest or legs).
You avoid situations or hide aspects of your body, due to anxiety about how you look.
You are motivated and ready to make a change.
You are willing to feel some discomfort to ultimately feel better about how you look.
Clinical Recommendations
While you are welcome to work through this program at whatever pace you feel comfortable, here are Dr. Luis’ clinical recommendations for how to pace yourself throughout the program:
Phase 1 - Read through and complete up to page 5. Focus on learning about appearance anxiety and being curious about how it manifests for you. This phase is all about awareness, so if you need more time, feel free to extend this phase. Time spent in this phase should be at least 1 week.
Phase 2 - Read pages 6 through 10. Don’t start the behavioral pieces yet. Focus on noticing and practicing the cognitive elements, as this will set you up for success once you get to the behavioral elements. Once you’re ready to move on to the next phase, create your plan on page 8. Time spent in this phase should be at least 2 weeks.
Phase 3 - Use the plan you created to work through 1 or 2 steps a week. Focus on repetition. Reps matter in the gym, and the same applies here. The more you step outside of your comfort zone, the more confident you will feel. This is the bulk of the program, so feel free to take your time through this phase. Time spent in this phase should be at least 5 weeks.