Can biblical counseling help someone with bulimia?
Yes! If you or someone you know is struggling with bulimia, God’s Word can help you overcome this challenge.
Definition: Bulimia (full name: bulimia nervosa) is a recurring pattern of eating an excessive amount of food followed by purging, fasting, and/or extreme exercise to prevent weight gain. It is most prevalent among female college students, although any person can struggle in this area.
Response: The Bible offers hope for a person who is struggling with bulimia. Every situation and every person is different, so we would have to speak one on one to help work through a full answer, but people who struggle with bulimia often struggle with self-image. This person often determines his or her value based on the opinions of others, and thus they perceive that they only have worth when their body looks a certain way. We might describe this in biblical terms as a fear of man, because it represents fear or excessive concern about how a person is valued by others. Our goals in counseling would be to help her understand her life through God’s eyes and learn how to use that knowledge to live a joyful and productive life.
If you or someone you know is struggling with bulimia, we would love to help you see how God can overcome bulimia in your life through His Word. Leave us a voicemail at (210) 201-4733 or email the counseling director at marshall@redeemercounselingservices.org. Our biblical counseling is always free.
Redeemer Counseling Services, offering free biblical counseling in San Antonio.
Special thanks to Focus Publishing for allowing adapted use of material from The Christian’s Guide to Psychological Terms. This book and other works by Dr. Asher and his wife, Mary, are available from Focus Publishing, www.focuspublishing.com.