As a Christian who personally struggled with an eating disorder (ED) for over a decade, I can say, with certainty, that the Christian church does not spend enough time on the topic of eating disorders.

And I want to change that—which is part of the reason I started my podcast, Recover with God. In fact, this post is essentially a transcript of episode #42.

Over the past few years, I’ve come across many more Christian women—and even men—who are speaking up, speaking out, and sharing their own unique stories to spread hope. And that encourages me so much!

Yet, we have more work to do. We can all be part of this broader conversation.

How to Overcome Shame in Eating Disorder Recovery

I’ve shared this before, but about a year after I stopped bingeing and purging, I started sharing my ED recovery story more publicly. One day, my mom asked me, “How is it so easy for you to talk about this?”

While I wouldn’t have called it easy at that time, that wasn’t my answer. Instead, I told her that I talk about it because it no longer has power over me.

And that’s what I want to chat about—not being afraid or ashamed to talk about eating disorders. The enemy wanted me to feel shame. He wants you to feel shame if you’re struggling now, or even if you recovered. And shame keeps things in the dark. It keeps us isolated, alone, and stuck in our sin and struggles.

But shame is not from God.

In Psalm 34:4-5 (ERV) we read about King David’s experience, which is also a promise of God:

“4  I went to the Lord for help, and he listened. He saved me from all that I fear. 5  If you look to him for help, he will put a smile on your face. You will have no need to be ashamed.”

And, in Romans 8:1 (AMP), the Apostle Paul gives us this assurance:

“Therefore there is now no condemnation [no guilty verdict, no punishment] for those who are in Christ Jesus [who believe in Him as personal Lord and Savior].”

Christians Struggle with Eating Disorders, Too

When I first started my podcast, I felt a strong conviction to call it Recover with God and talk about the faith aspect of recovery. Why? Because, at the time, I observed a lack of discussion around eating disorders amongst Christians. Personally, I’ve even experienced times when it felt like a topic that was too uncomfortable or taboo for church.

But that’s part of the problem and I don’t want to be part of the problem. I want to be part of the solution.

Jesus-loving, Bible-believing people need to talk about eating disorders because Christians are struggling with food, body image, anorexia, bulimia, orthorexia, binge eating, exercise addiction, extreme dieting, and disordered behaviors—whether we like it or not.

As a teenager struggling with disordered eating, and later an eating disorder, the last place I thought to get help was my church. Of course, this was back in the 1990s and early 2000s, but still, how sad, right?

The community of Christ should be THE place for Christians to seek help without fear of judgment or dismissal. I don’t mean that church should be a replacement for treatments like therapy or seeing a health professional who specializes in ED recovery, but the people of God are meant to be a safe space and a source of encouragement, edification, and wise counsel to bring us hope, not shame.

I also don’t want to shame the church. Eating disorders are not an easy subject to talk about. Many people are afraid of saying or doing the wrong thing—and that is valid. Yet, I propose that not saying anything out of fear OR not offering to be a listening ear can be more harmful than not saying the exact right thing.

What Does God Say About Helping One Another?

Galatians 6:2 (ERV) reminds us to: “Help each other with your troubles. When you do this, you are obeying the law of Christ.”

And this goes beyond eating disorders. As a church community, we need each other. We need to talk about the hard things. We need to remove the darkness surrounding the struggles we face and bring them to the light.

Here’s what Hebrews 10:23-25 (ERV) calls us to do:

“23 We must hold on to the hope we have, never hesitating to tell people about it. We can trust God to do what he promised. 24 We should think about each other to see how we can encourage each other to show love and do good works. 25 We must not quit meeting together, as some are doing. No, we need to keep on encouraging each other. This becomes more and more important as you see the Day getting closer.”

“The Day getting closer.” That’s Jesus’ triumphant return and it is coming, although no one knows the exact day.

But we do know that every day is one day closer, right? Today, we are one day closer to the second coming of Jesus OR one day closer to the end of our lives. And that creates a sense of urgency.

Urgency to help those in need. Urgency to seek recovery for yourself and live the rest of your life in freedom. I want that for you. In fact, that is one of the reasons I chose recovery.

Feeling Alone in Recovery

After struggling with bulimia for over 10 years, I finally reached a point when the thought of living WITH bulimia for the rest of my life terrified me more than the thought of going through recovery. I was desperate for freedom, whatever it took. Whatever the cost of letting go and trusting God.

But let me tell you, even with God, my recovery was isolating. I never felt comfortable talking about it with other Christians. I never found a group of believers like me who truly understood. So, I recovered with God. Just the two of us.

Yes, that worked for me. But I don’t recommend it because I see now the importance of community. The importance of talking about this struggle that so many face.

Check out these statistics compiled by the National Alliance for Eating Disorders. Now, I will preface this by saying that some of these stats are several years old, based on the source data. Yet, honestly, if a new study came out today, I wouldn’t be surprised if some of these numbers and percentages increased.

Eating Disorder Statistics

• 9% of the U.S. population, or 28.8 million Americans, will have an eating disorder in their lifetime.
• 10,200 deaths each year are the direct result of an eating disorder – that’s one death every 52 minutes.
• Less than 6% of people with eating disorders are medically diagnosed as “underweight.”
• 13% of women over the age of 50 have eating disorder symptoms.
• Approximately 3.6% of males on college campuses have an eating disorder.
• The rate of children under 12 being admitted to a hospital for eating disorders rose 119% in less than a decade.
• Approximately 6-8% of adolescents have an eating disorder.

And, yes, these numbers include Christians. So, the next time you attend a church service, Bible study, or any event where believers are present, consider this. It’s statistically likely that several people, if not dozens, are silently struggling with an eating disorder, disordered eating, or body image issues.

You are not alone. But the problem is, you might still feel like you are. And those other Christians in the same room as you might also feel like they’re alone. So, we need to talk about it. We need to keep talking about it. We need to feel less alone. We need each other, and we need Jesus.

How the Enemy Distracts Christians

In light of everything that happens in the world—every tragedy, every disaster, every evil news headline—eating disorder struggles might pale in comparison. Why, then, are so many people affected? Why is this such a widespread, global problem?

It’s not a coincidence.

The National Alliance for Eating Disorders also shared this: “A review article from 2023 indicates that up to 22% of children and adolescents struggle with disordered eating. It’s important to note that while eating disorders are a mental health diagnosis, disordered eating describes a type of behavior such as restriction, bingeing, or excessive exercise.”

Our enemy, the devil, is desperate to distract us—especially those of us who are Christians. He wants nothing more than to keep us from being effective in spreading hope. To keep us from glorifying God. To keep us from being a light to this world.

The more distracted we are by our bodies, our weight, size, appearance, and how others perceive us, the less we will focus on God, our purpose, and how He can use us.

I’ll be the first to say that my eating disorder was all about ME. Everything else took a back seat—even God. And, I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. I believe eating disorders and body struggles are one of the devil’s sneakiest distractions. These behaviors are so ingrained in our culture that we begin to justify them, right? And that makes talking about all of this so much harder.

We justify.

We get defensive.

We rationalize.

We carry on as if there isn’t a problem.

And that’s exactly what the enemy wants.

How to Fight Against Spiritual Attacks

So let’s not let him win. Let’s talk about it. Keep talking about it. Help each other. Fight the fight together. Whether you’re struggling now or you want to help someone you know, what’s one thing you can do today to bring the darkness to light?

Maybe it looks like having a conversation or asking a question.

Maybe it’s letting someone know you’re available to talk.

Maybe it’s sharing your own story.

Or maybe it’s simply praying. Asking God to show you what to do.

No matter what you do, let’s feel less alone together, okay? That’s how God designed us to live!