Follow Through I came into the OA program after being in treatment. I was an insane compulsive overeater, anorexic, and bulimic. I took diet pills, narcotics, and alcohol to the limits of insanity and self-harm to control my compulsion for food. I was in rehab, two psychiatric units, and OA for four years before I understood this program. I have maintained abstinence … Read More
No Stone Unturned OA recovery helps me with my relationships with my Higher Power, myself, and other people. Abstinence gives me clarity to be open to my Higher Power’s messages: I listen to the wisdom of my own body and I hear my HP’s voice in my sponsor and in meetings through members’ shares. I pray to see and hear others through God’s … Read More
Grateful for Friends in OA “Any form of service—no matter how small— that helps reach a fellow sufferer adds to the quality of our own recovery.” — The Tools of Recovery I was at home on February 27 when I fell and broke my right ankle. At the emergency room, they found it was broken in two places and needed surgery. I was in the … Read More
Home Truths Here am I thinking, now that I’m an abstinent member of OA, it automatically means I’m an outstanding citizen within my family. But eavesdropping on a conversation between my wife and son lands a bombshell of a home truth in my lap. My son asks, “Mammy, do you ever wake up grumpy?” My wife replies, “Sometimes!” Then, after a substantial pause, “And sometimes I let him sleep on!” Dumbfounded, … Read More
I Did Everything Possible My first day of program was November 3, 1983. How could I ever forget it? That day not only changed my life, it saved my life. At my first meeting, after the welcoming remarks and introductions, the OA Preamble, and the Steps, Traditions, and Tools, they read the passage “Welcome to Overeaters Anonymous. Welcome home!” I started to cry—softly, of course. … Read More
Tools for Sanity I came to understand my abstinence through working with my first OA sponsor in Step One, looking at what foods and food behaviors I was powerless over and when my life was unmanageable as it related to food. The most obvious problem was my nighttime bingeing, and at first my bottom-line abstinence was not bingeing at night, using the 3-0-1 … Read More
Lessons Learned I just celebrated my sixth OA birthday and took time to reflect upon what I have learned. I am sending this to Lifeline per my sponsor’s direction. My recovery has taught me: I am a woman in recovery. I am no longer a victim. There are no mistakes. Everyone I meet is here to show me something if I am … Read More
What Needs to Happen For me, the slogans are an amazing resource. When life is tough and I feel like I am running on an empty tank, the Steps can seem to be on a higher plane than I can reach. Even the Tools can seem like a lot of effort. But slogans are short, sweet, and easy to remember, and they carry a bucketful … Read More
Fierce Honesty I first came to Overeaters Anonymous in August 2011. I had recently returned from an overseas internship and moved to a new city, where I hardly knew a soul. I decided to try OA after a close friend recommended it. She said it helped her face her lifelong struggle with bulimia when nothing else worked. As a food restrictor and … Read More
Another Way When my sponsor suggested I write an article for Lifeline, I was resistant and felt a surge of rage toward the program because, to be honest, my experiences in OA have not been perfect. For years I used OA to reinforce my eating disorder. I am an anorexic, bulimic, compulsive over-exerciser, and a compulsive overeater, and I’ve been in OA … Read More