84: How to Take Every Thought Captive in Eating Disorder Recovery w/ Dr Alisa Shanks Artwork

Old School Food Freedom

In today’s diet-culture society, food issues and body hatred have become the norm. But you were created to be FREE. Welcome to Old School Food Freedom, where we go back to the basics, God’s basics, for how we view food, our bodies, and our worth.

Hosted by FINDINGbalance Executive Director Chrissy Kirkman, this podcast features Biblically-sound experts, thought-leaders, artists, and everyday people who will inspire you to interrupt negative cultural soundtracks and rediscover God’s original design for your relationship with food and your body.

This show will deliver practical, faith-filled insights on how to break free from diet culture and body shame through the lens of scripture. If you’re looking for guidance on how to heal your relationship with food while deepening your faith, you're in the right place.

We’ll answer questions like

What does the Bible say about food freedom?

How can I overcome an eating disorder or disordered eating with Jesus?

What is the biblical perspective on diet culture?

How can I find peace with food as a Christian?

What does it mean to treat your body as a temple in relation to eating?

How can I break free from diet culture with Jesus?

How can I align my eating habits with biblical teachings?

What are the first steps to finding food freedom in Christ?

This podcast is for anyone ready to walk away from diet culture and into the freedom that Christ offers. Whether you’re recovering from an eating disorder, disordered eating, wrestling with body image, or simply craving a more peaceful relationship with food, this space was made for you.

If you want to experience true food freedom with Jesus, this podcast will give you the encouragement, truth, and tools to do just that.

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Old School Food Freedom

84: How to Take Every Thought Captive in Eating Disorder Recovery w/ Dr Alisa Shanks

May 05, 2026 • FINDINGbalance, Inc., Christ-Centered Food Freedom Support • Season 8 • Episode 84

0:00 | 36:18

If you know the verse "Take every thought captive," but still feel completely at the mercy of the thoughts that won't stop coming, this episode is for you.

Dr. Alisa Shanks is a licensed clinical psychologist with over two decades of experience in eating disorder recovery and university mental health, and she believes wholeheartedly in full recovery. What she brings to this conversation began not in a studio but in a therapy session, when the Holy Spirit planted something she couldn't stop thinking about: the fruit of the Spirit versus the poisoned fruit of the enemy, and what it means to choose which one you grow.

Together, Chrissy and Alisa walk through the full list of the fruit of the Spirit alongside their antonyms, talk about why self-forgiveness in recovery is often the hardest kind, and explore what it looks like to feel a hard emotion without planting its seed. The fruit is not something you manufacture. It grows when you stay grafted to the vine.

This is part one of a two-part conversation with Dr. Alisa Shanks. In part two, she brings the science. Come back for that one, friend. It is worth it.

We love hearing from you! If something in today’s episode resonated or you just want to say hi, text us using the link below. We read and respond to every message, and you might just hear an answer to your question on a future episode.

Check out the full show notes and other resources at

https://www.findingbalance.com/podcast-episodes/how-to-take-every-thought-captive

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