FEATURED: Podcast Guest – Diet Culture, Purity Culture, & Disconnection from Our Bodies

I was recently invited to chat with Kari Fillian, host of the Your Friend the Therapist Podcast, about my work with religious trauma and body image concerns. Season 2 of the podcast is focusing on topics surrounding harm within religious settings and systems, including the variety of impacts this harm can have and the ways that people may find healing from these wounds.

Image contains the following text:  "Featured:  Purity Culture, Diet Culture, and Disconnection from Our Bodies on Your Friend the Therapist Podcast."

Kari and I chatted about how Diet Culture and Purity Culture can both create disconnection from our bodies. We spent time talking about each of these – the hierachy of appearance emphasized in diet culture, and the hierarchy of morality/holiness emphasized in purity culture – and how they can lead to denial of and disconnect from bodily messages and desires. We also talked about the ways these messages can overlap for some folks, creating sepcific wounds in how the individual exists in their body.

Grayscale image of a woman with a megaphone and the quote, "Diet culture and purity culture create a judgmental hierarchy."

Look for this podcast episode – Your Friend the Therapist – How Diet Culture, Purity Culture, and High-Control Religion Can Disconnect Us From Our Bodies – wherever you listen to podcasts.

For your convenience, here’s a link to the episode on Spotify.


Michelle F. Moseley is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor in NC. She believes ALL people deserve respect, compassion, and access to mental and physical healthcare. Michelle specializes in working with survivors of religious trauma and with those who have body image concerns, finding there is frequent overlap in these areas. You can learn more about Michelle by visiting her website at MichelleFMoseley.com or following her on Instagram – @therapy_with_michelle 

Sign-up for Michelle’s Monthly Email Newsletter to make sure you never miss a blog post