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I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately, and I don’t know if I’m going to make any sense, but here goes… Do you think that there’s any connection between religious fasting and eating disorders? Most people can fast once a month and have no problems, but for someone who’s already prone to an ED, do you think it’s problematic to link hunger and virtue? Are we teaching that depriving oneself of food is an effective way to gain God’s favor? (Prayer, when combined with fasting, is more powerful than prayer alone. That’s not something I’m reading into our doctrine, it’s already there. So, there is intrinsic value to food deprivation.) Although we are not encouraged to fast more than once a month, people who DO (fast on other Sundays, fast during the week ie. for a ‘ward fast’) are generally met with approval.
When we are listing categories of people who are exempt from fasting (diabetics, pregnant/nursing mothers, my son who has the metabolism of a hummingbird and turns into the Incredible Hulk when he’s hungry) should we also exclude people who have or have had an ED? It’s my understanding that recovering from an ED is like recovering from something like alcoholism, where you aren’t ever REALLY “over it.”
Is there a higher incidence of ED within the LDS church? If there is, I haven’t heard about it. However, I do know that we have a higher incidence of depression (or at least, a higher incidence of antidepressant use) AND a cultural fixation on women’s appearance. That seems like fertile breeding ground for ED. Additionally, it’s my understanding (I’m not an expert!) that ED is often less about appearance and more about feeling a sense of control that is otherwise missing from one’s life. I could definitely see how women in a highly patriarchal church culture could feel that they are not in control. After all, even our underwear choices & number of earrings are overseen by men.
Thoughts?
I don’t have a great understanding of eating disorders. We do have a young girl in our neighborhood who suffers from anorexia and bulimia and has had all sorts of therapies and treatments, including several inpatient stints, and they seem to be to no avail. So, if I did have a child or close relative who suffered from an eating disorder I think I’d let them know that I thought they were excluded from fasting because of their health. I think the church does leave that pretty open ended and does not list “only these health issues” preclude fasting.
I should also note that I believe it is perfectly acceptable to fast for less than 24 hours, even far less (like skipping only breakfast or lunch and not necessarily food
anddrink). I also think it is acceptable to “sacrifice” by giving up something other than food or by giving up only certain foods – sort of like Lent. No, I don’t believe there is an association, particularly when we only skip two meals each month. Perhaps with something like Ramadan, existing tendencies might be magnified, but the way we do it? I don’t think so. Having said that, there are all kinds of conditions that would keep someone from being able to fast – or make it inadvisable to fast.
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