An over-50 Generation Xer sees life through a new lens: Kathy’s Window is where Kathy shares her thoughts on the world through a new lens. From growing up in the 70s and 80s to having three Generation-Z kids, and going through certain experiences in her life, she now sees the world in a different way. Ideas that were considered the norm in the 70s, 80s and 90s are now no longer socially relevant or acceptable. Kathy explores the new ideas through the lens of someone who has been on both sides of the ‘glass’.
TODAY, I’m going to share a very personal story. I wasn’t sure whether I wanted to share this story with you, but after hearing a podcast from one of my favourite podcasts on Spotify – Unsavory – I thought that people should be made aware of the insidious influence of certain branches of religion/spirituality on our health. This post is not to criticise any religion or spiritual path. It is to open people’s eyes to certain teachings or ideas that may affect people badly – to teachings that could be cultish.
The podcast I’m referring to is hosted by Canadian registered dietitians Sarah Muncaster and Becca Harris. It is where true crime meets food. You have to listen. It is brilliant! The particular episode is called Energy Needs and the Cult of Breatharianism.
My story started in my late teens. After school, I attended a local ‘Charismatic’ Bible college to study the Bible. At the time, the particular church I was attending and the Bible college were big on fasting – going without any food for a set period of time that is longer than the time between meals. Fasting was a way to get ‘close to God’ and to obtain answers to prayers. I needed some prayers answered, so I decided to go for it. Most people would do a one-day fast, but some would do a three-day fast. Thankfully, the advice was to still drink water while fasting. I started off with the one-day fasts which weren’t too bad for me at the time – I was young. Then I tried the three-day one, and that was much more challenging. The second and third days were brutal! I hated it.
ALSO READ: I was fatphobic, and now, I’m fat
At college, there was a subtle sense of shame if you weren’t willing to fast. You weren’t as dedicated and spiritual, and you wouldn’t have the breakthroughs in your life that you needed if you weren’t willing to forego nutrition for a few days. Feeling the constant pressure, I stopped eating most meals. My family got worried. My dad forbid me from going to church and sent me to a doctor who diagnosed me with anorexia nervosa. I was shocked and chose to work on my recovery.
A spirituality competition
Fast forward a few years later, and once again, I needed some prayers answered. There was a craze in my church amongst some of the young adults to fast for longer periods. A couple of books were circulating at the time written by a man in the early 1900s who had fasted for 21 and sometimes 40 days. The author said we’re all addicted to food and how it ‘draws us away from God’ and how we needed to fast to ‘break that addiction’. I took the teachings to heart. Being young, desperate and impressionable, and finding my social needs met at the church and college, I went all in. I decided to do a seven-day fast or longer, if need be. Phew, was it hard. I was working at the time and had no energy. It affected my mental health. I also was no longer staying with my parents who could steer me away from the cultish teachings. Thankfully, eventually in physical desperation, I broke the fast. I did do it slowly and carefully as the book said we should. If I hadn’t, I could’ve died – I didn’t even know this until I listened to the Unsavory Breatharianism podcast. If food is introduced too fast after starvation, it can cause severe health problems and even death.
I decided not to fast anymore, realising that it wasn’t a good thing for me. There were other times that I was drawn into fasting again but nothing nearly as bad. But I always felt the pressure to do it when it was taught at church. And some leaders insisted that I had a problem when I refused to partake in the activity – even when I told them my previous experience.
How radical isn’t always safe, boo
Remember, when you take part in a religious organisation, your bodily autonomy matters. If something they teach doesn’t sit right for you, don’t do it, no matter how much the leader says you should. Or subtly shames you for not doing it. No matter what argument they make about the faith that you follow – that you need to do something that is harmful to your body – don’t do it. One of the classic ways that cults make you more susceptible to their influence/brainwashing is by limiting your food and sleep. I’m not talking about a regular cultural fast like Ramadan or something that everyone in a large group has been following for years without a problem. I am referring to something niche and radical. Do more research from a scientific point of view before you embark on something that, if you were a teen, you know your loving parents would not approve of.
Also, remember that the way cults get to people is by reaching out to them during a time when they are vulnerable and needy. I had entered a phase in my life when I didn’t feel supported by the adults in my life and felt isolated and anxious. I needed social support more than anything else. When someone is going through a difficult time emotionally and is thirsty for social support or a supposed ‘miracle’, they can get swept into something harmful to them, especially when it promises them the answers to all their ills. As soon as you are made to feel better than and highly elevated above other everyday people, a huge red flag is flying. Isolating you is what cults and cultish teachings do.
ALSO READ: Kathy’s Window: Why the Body Mass Index (BMI) is bull and racist
What about intermittent fasting?
Intermittent fasting – much less severe than what I did – is popular in the diet-o-sphere and has been for quite a while. It is a lifestyle of switching from eating to fasting according to a regular, planned schedule. It’s an interesting topic, but this article is too long already, so I’m going to dive into it another time. If you’d like to read more, wait for the next instalment where I explore intermittent fasting, the conflicting views on it, and my personal opinion on it.
Keep an eye out for Kathy’s follow up post about intermittent fasting.
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