Some Christians who have experienced eating disorders would like healthcare professionals to be aware of the following points. These do not necessarily reflect the perspective of all Christians – everyone’s journey is unique, and it’s important not to assume an individual’s perspective based on their affiliation. However, you might like to consider whether these might be relevant to Christians who you work with.
‘I think for healthcare professionals, in my experience, they respected my faith, but they kind of saw it as a separate thing, that we’re going to treat your eating disorder and you can go to church on Sundays if you want to. They don’t see it as integral part of part of who you are. So, I think a little bit of awareness…[would be] helpful.’
‘I don’t think I ever talked about my faith and stuff, because I thought I might come across as crazy as well. And so I could never be fully honest, because I didn’t have the understanding on the other side of the atheist therapist who I was seeing. Does that make sense?…I was scared that things I might say, might trigger things that didn’t need to be…in some of those spaces, that can sound really crazy…you know, like God’s talking to me or whatever…I had that understanding of that being a thing, and so I didn’t know what that looked like in a non-Christian context and how that would be received…Open acknowledgement [by a healthcare provider] of being able to integrate that [spiritual] part of my world with my physical world I think would have been hugely helpful.’
‘Even if a psychologist is not religious, I think it’s still very important to ask about, “Are you religious? How important is that in your life? What sort of a factor does that play?” Because, you know, with psychologists, they’ll ask you about your work, your family life, who your friends are, which of these you can draw support on. But I don’t recall — at least me — I don’t recall being asked about, like, religion and what sort of a factor that plays. Whether I can draw on support through my spirituality.’
‘One of the psychologists…as soon as I said I just got straight As they jumped to, “Yep, she’s anorexic.” I think religion was also one thing that fuelled it. And it’s like, because I’m trying to perfect everything and I know anorexia can be perfectionist. And I think that really actually destroyed me and hurt me…how dare you jump to that – to that conclusion.’
‘I had health professionals then who weren’t Christians trying to use my Christian faith to encourage me. But…they were shaming. They were trying to be helpful, but they weren’t. They’re like…“What does God think about your eating?” and things like that, trying to encourage, but they weren’t.’
‘I would ask at times in programs, “Can I go to Chapel?” Some programs said, “Yes.” Other programs they used it like kind of a reward, “You haven’t gained weight, you can’t go.” So, I used to get frustrated at that [laughs]…because I was like, “But can’t you see that this is something that helps me?”’
‘…My psychologist…didn’t, like, tell me stuff; she was just like, “Who can you speak to to find out more about this? Is there anyone in your life that you can talk to, to find out more about Christianity so you can make a decision [about whether you believe it or not]? Like, she kind of guided me in that .’
