EATING DISORDERS

EATING DISORDERS

The blessing that Restoration Pointe provides is a safe place to deal with depression, isolation, lack of trust, and eating disorders, as means of achieving worth or sobriety from other struggles.

The Problem

Eating disorders involve extreme disturbances in eating behavior.

An eating disorder can begin to reveal itself very early in life, and is no respecter of race, gender, or ethnicity. An eating disorder can be characterized as:

An excessive or compulsive consumption of food (bingeing) and/or getting rid of food (purging)

It may also be characterized by self-induced starvation and excessive and unhealthy weight loss It may also show itself in any combination of these extreme eating behaviors, bringing with it strong feelings of being completely out of control. We may manifest inappropriate behaviors to compensate for our unhealthy eating behaviors, including, but not limited to: excessive use of laxatives and/or enemas

frequent dieting an overall unhealthy obsession with body weight and shape

We may have believed the lie that our bodies define who we are, and that changing our body image to fit an imagined standard would bring fulfillment, peace, and acceptance into our chaotic lives. We may have jeopardized our relationships, health, jobs, morals, and values to ensure we meet these imagined standards.

We may have used food as a means to control.

We felt our circumstances and relationships were unmanageable.

We compulsively obsessed over food as the one thing in life that we could bring order to.

We may also have rationalized our addictive behaviors, justifying our unhealthy relationship with food as “health conscious.” We may be living a double life, secretly acting out, ashamed of our lack of control, ashamed of our bodies, ashamed of our destructive and irrational behavior.

We became disconnected from reality making true intimacy with God or other people seemingly impossible. Some of us cling to the false sense of control and power our behavior gives us.

Some of us sink into despair as we cycle through the endless shame and pain that disordered eating brings us.

BIBLICAL RESPONSE:

Colossians 2:10 So you also are complete through your union with Christ, who is the head over every ruler and authority. (NLT)

1 Corinthians 6:19-20 Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself, for God bought you with a high price. So, you must honor God with your body.

Romans 12:1 “I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.”

The Solution

Healing begins NOT when we change our behaviors, but when we change our beliefs about:

Who we are, and what God created food for.

We let go of the lie that our bodies define who we are.

We let go of the lie that food is a means to control and manipulate our disordered eating.

We begin to believe the truth about who we are.

Then, the truth about God’s purpose for food can bring about healing.

With support from your recovery group, Sponsor, Mentor, and or Accountability Partner, we can begin to renounce these lies and believe the truth that

God loves me unconditionally, He gives me my value, and I do not need to change my body to have worth and significance, and God created food for His purposes: to fuel my body, to enjoy in moderation, and to celebrate in community/fellowship. NEXT STEPS BIBLICAL FIREPOWER WEAPONRY:

Bible

Accountability partner/sponsor/mentor

Prayer time daily and consistently

This recovery/discipleship meeting weekly

Disengagement from things that squander our ability to live a regenerated lifestyle by God's word. God loves you and made you in His image.

Ask Christ to heal you spiritually (Romans 10:13), physically, emotionally and socially.

If you do not yet have a personal relationship with Jesus, learn more at rprecovery.org/the-gospel. OR YOU CAN TALK WITH ME AFTERWARDS