Overcoming Anorexia

This page is not meant to be totally comprehensive, but  is a simplistic overview of issues, some associated issues, and some answers to the disease of anorexia. 
Issues
Some Associated Issues
Some Answers
Physical /sexual abuse
Rejection Of Body
Body is Temple of H.S.
False accusations
False Guilt
Truth
Failure to overcome
Doubt of ever overcoming
God's Healing Promises
Inability to overcome
Self efforts
Living by God's Grace
Lack of Purpose
Feeling of Worthlessness
Discover God's Purpose
Anxiety
Doubt
Faith in God
Focus on problems
Begging God for Answers
Accepting The Promises
Passiveness
Listening to the enemy
Bring Every Thought Captive
Fear of man
Pride
Fear of God
Suicidal Thoughts
Un-yielded Rights
Casting Cares Upon God
Generational Curses
Perverted Judgment
Break The Curses
Self Rejection
Receiving God's Approval
Judgment of Self
Taking on God's Role
Acceptance of God's Mercy
Rejection by others
Hide from public
Show Yourself Friendly
True Guilt
Not accepting God's forgiveness
Receive True Forgiveness > Christ
Past Failures
Fear of rejection
Obeying God
Lack of True Identity
False Identity
Identity in Christ
Anger & Depression
Viewing Life as Unfair
Praising God
Loneliness
Not allowing God to use others
God works through people
Confusion
Mental bondage
Engrafting The WORD
Self Destruction
Punishment of Body
Thankful For One's Body
Ungodly Addictions
Often A Substitute for Truth
Receiving A Clear Conscience
Fear of weight gain
Fear of weight gain
Trusting God w/weight
Control Mechanisms
Feigned Illness
Repent / Speak Truth


The following is a simple discussion of the above with some links and a sampling of some Scriptures to further explain the issues and encourage you.
Physical /sexual abuse = This abuse often occurs in childhood from a parent or other authority figure, but also may be self inflicted.
Cruel or unfair punishment
Sexual molestation
Incest
Rape
Rejection Of Body = The individual becomes unable to accept their physical appearance.

Body is Temple of Holy Spirit = The individual needs to see their body as the temple of the Holy Spirit. SEE: How To Receive The Holy Spirit.

"What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?" (I Corinthians 6:19).


False accusations = Again these accusations my come through an authority figure. However, they may also come through the spiritual powers of darkness.  After a while, the individual may not know the source of the accusations and take individual ownership of them.
"You are no good."
"You are a failure."
"You can't do anything right."
False Guilt = Here the individual comes to accept the accusations as being true and that he or she is the problem.

Truth = The truth usually must come from outside, from positive objective influence.  SEE: Recognizing The Accuser.

"And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free" (John 8:32).


Failure to overcome = This is a two edged sword.  The individual may try to live up to the impossible standards of the accuser or try to overcome their anorexia disorder, but fails repeatedly.

Doubt of ever overcoming = When the individual continues to fail repeatedly over a period of time, the individual loses hope of ever overcoming.

God's Healing Promises = There are many promises in God's Word about healing all diseases.  SEE: By His Stripes.

"And his fame went throughout all Syria: and they brought unto him all sick people that were taken with divers diseases and torments, and those which were possessed with devils, and those which were lunatick, and those that had the palsy; and he healed them" (Matthew 4:24).


Inability to overcome = The individual may continue to try to overcome the illness, but is unable to do so by their own ability.

Self efforts = It is not surprising that the individual finds it impossible to overcome through their self efforts and also often through the medical or psychological fields. This is because it is not just a medical or mental issue, it also very much a spiritual issue.

Living by God's Grace = Grace is the gift of God enabling us to do His will by His Power.  SEE:  Ability To Live.

"For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure" (Philippians 2:13).


Lack of Purpose = There is usually a sense of a lack of purpose.

Feeling of Worthlessness = The sense of worthlessness if often coupled with a lack of purpose.

Discover God's Purpose = God has a divine plan for your life. SEE: Bearing Fruit.

"For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end" (Jeremiah 29:11).


Anxiety = Anxiety is a strong belief that something bad is going to happen.  SEE: Overcoming Anxiety.

Doubt = Is believing that nothing good will come from God. SEE: Fears/Phobia Test.

Faith in God = Faith is a something we receive from the Word of God.  It is not "hope" which looks forward to the future.  Faith is! Faith is always in the present tense.  SEE: A Positive Mental Attitude.

"Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen" (Hebrews 11:1).

"But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him" (Hebrews 11:6)



Focus on problems =  When Peter focused upon the storm, his faith began to diminish and he began to sink.

Begging God for Answers = Begging God implies a lack of faith in what God has already promised.  One can fall while he are praying when he are asking for what God has already promised.

Accepting The Promises = Remember that Joshua and Caleb said that they could well take the promised land while the other ten spies focused their attention on the giants in the land.  See: Praying God's Promises.

"For all the promises of God in him are yea, and in him Amen, unto the glory of God by us" (II Corinthians 1:20).


Passiveness = Is a type of an escape mechanism that also leads to a mental bondage.  SEE: Personality Test.

Listening to the enemy = The enemy is the accuser of the Believer and feeds him lies and deception.  SEE: Discerning Of Spirits.

Bring Every Thought Captive = One is to be discerning of every thought as to the source and truthfulness of each.

"Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ" (II Corinthians 10:5).


Fear of man = The fear of man is seeking the approval of people.  SEE: Fear Of Man Test.

Pride = Is center around self.  SEE: Orbit Around Self.

The Fear Of God = This is a positive fear of God, knowing that there are consequences for our disobedience.

"The fear of man bringeth a snare: but whoso putteth his trust in the LORD shall be safe" (Proverbs 29:25).

"In the fear of the LORD is strong confidence: and his children shall have a place of refuge" (Proverbs 14:26).



Suicidal Thoughts = This is anger that is turned inward toward self, a self-hatred.

Un-yielded Rights = Anger is the result of what we consider to be our personal rights that we have yet to yield to God.

Casting Our Cares Upon God =    SEE: Some Real Answers For Suicidal Thoughts.

"Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.  Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour" (I Peter 5:7-8).


Generational Curses = Generational curses can be negative character traits that are passed down from one generation to the next.  SEE: How To Destroy The Evil Tree.

Perverted Judgment = This perverted (twisted) judgment may include how one sees God, others, or one's own self.

Break The Curses = This comes by confessing the one's own iniquities, the iniquities of the forefathers, and declaring in agreement with the Word that Jesus has become a curse of  us.

"And the seed of Israel separated themselves from all strangers, and stood and confessed their sins, and the iniquities of their fathers" Nehemiah 9:2).

"Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree: That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith" (Galatians 3:14).



Self Rejection = This is the general conclusion of the individual.

Anorexia = Anorexia is an overt manifesting of self rejection.

Receiving God's Approval = In Christ, one is approved just as much as the Jesus is approved of the Father. SEE: To Gain Your Identity.

"To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved" (Ephesians 1:6).

"Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth" (II Timothy 2:15).



Judgment of Self = "God may forgive me, but I can't forgive myself."

Taking on God's Role = This is in truth saying that our judgment is higher than God's judgment.

Acceptance of God's Mercy = "Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost" (Titus 3:5).



Rejection by others =  This not only includes the original rejection issue, but the rejection of one's manifestation of anorexia including the physical appearance, the lies, and attitude about life.

Hide from public =  Withdraw from social gatherings including church is not uncommon.

Show Yourself Friendly = When people show themselves to be friends, others often overlook failures.

"A man that hath friends must shew himself friendly: and there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother" (Proverbs 18:24).


True Guilt = This come from a conviction by the Holy Spirit of wrongs that one has done, by words, actions, attitudes, or motives.

Not accepting God's forgiveness = Often one may believe that what they have done is so wrong that God would never forgive them.  This may also may be coupled with their continual failures (iniquities = bent toward certain sins or anorexia).

Receive true Forgiveness > Christ =  Jesus suffered for all our sins, past, present, and future. SEE: Overcoming Guilt.

"If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness" (I John 1:9).

"Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases" (Psalm 103:3).



Past Failures = Past failures often serve as the basis for current decisions. The individual acts as he sees himself to be.

Fear of rejection = Is associated with an approval addiction.  SEE: Approval Addiction.

Obeying God = There is no greater accomplishment than to obey the Creator. SEE: Overcoming The Odds.

"Great peace have they which love thy law: and nothing shall offend them" (Psalm 119:165)

"My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me" (John 10:27).



Lack of True Identity = In the middle of the battle, the individual loses a sense of his identity. SEE: A Bruised Identity.

False Identity = Where there is void of true identity, the individual is often tagged with the identity of "anorexia" or "Anorexia is who I am."

Identity in Christ = True identity for the Believer only comes through Christ.  SEE: Discover Your Identity.

"Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new" (II Corinthians 5:17).


Anger & Depression = Anger and depression open the door for the enemy to work in our lives. SEE: Bondage Of Unforgiveness.

Viewing Life as Unfair = When we look at life as being unfair, we are saying that God has goofed.   SEE: Life Is Unfair.

Praising God = One can't continue in depression at the same time that he truly praises the Lord.  SEE: I Did It In Desperation.

"And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose" (Romans 8:28).


Loneliness = Often the individual feels like that he all alone and that no one would understand his circumstance.

Not allowing God to use others = This is often a major trust issue.  Others have betrayed his trust in the past.

God works through people = The individual should come to see that God often works both through friends and those in spiritual authority.

"Two are better than one; because they have a good reward for their labour.  For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow: but woe to him that is alone when he falleth; for he hath not another to help him up" (Ecclesiastes 4:9-10)

"And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;  For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ" (Ephesians 4:11-12).



Confusion =  Confusion may take on many facets included a "confused identity" and may greatly effect the decision making process.

Mental bondage = Confusion often is associated with either indecision or wrong decisions.

Engrafting The WORD = The Word can save your mind from thinking wrong thoughts, your will from making wrong decisions, and your emotions from being out of control.

"Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls" (James 1:21).


Self Destruction = This is generally focused around starvation or attempts at suicide, but may also include such things as cutting. SEE: Cuttings or Markings.

Punishment of Body = This may be associated with feeling self guilt and a need to punish one's self.

Thankful For One's Body = We should be thankful in that God has made us (our bodies). SEE: Overcoming Guilt.

"I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well" (Psalm 139:14).


Ungodly Addictions = These can be any kind of addictions including sexual, drug, alcohol, or work. SEE: Addictive Disorders.

Often A Substitute for Truth = Addictions often are a cover or an attempt to avoid dealing with the real issues.

Receiving A Clear Conscience = We should forgive, seek forgiveness, and do that which is right. SEE: Get A Clear Conscience.

"And herein do I exercise myself, to have always a conscience void of offence toward God, and toward men" (Acts 24:16).


Fear of weight gain = This is part of the root definition of anorexia.

Fear of weight loss = In more severe stages of anorexia, the individual may have physical health or death issues.

Trusting God w/weight = Does God really know what is best for you?  You have a responsibility observe principles of good nutrition, but put the issue of body weight into God's hands. See: Stop Trying To Control Your Weight.

"I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service" (Romans 12:1).


Control Mechanism = It may begin by having a desire to be sick to manipulate the situation or people through illness.  SEE: Defense Mechanisms.

Feigned Illness = One may pretend to be sick, but when the person does, he or she opens door or gives legal right to enemy bring the disease.

Repent / Speak Truth = To repent is to be willing to turn from wishing to control through illness and of lying to manipulate the circumstances.  SEE: Overcoming Sins.

"Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbour: for we are members one of another" (Ephesians 4:25).

"Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds" (Colossians 3:9).


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