One Thing I Did Right I’m sorry to say I’ve had many relapses during my twenty-two years in program. But the last five years have been much better: back-to-back abstinence based on putting together a program that uses all the OA elements. My program reminds me of my first relapse, how I got into it and how I got out. I had come into OA … Read More
Long Journey, Strong Memory Today my husband and I are living our retirement dream, thanks to OA and the Twelve Steps. My life is so different today than it was before program. Today, I have a life and food has its proper place, thanks to a food plan that works for me. Two years ago, I relapsed after seventeen years of abstinence. It was … Read More
Help Through the Tools As I sit here at day forty-five of my abstinence, I am amazed and grateful for what has turned out to be like a joyride! I’ve had a couple days of waking up crabby, but I told my sponsor, put it out on calls, surrendered it to God, and soon found myself back on my joyride again. When I think … Read More
One Small Change When I first came to OA in 1985, I was blessed to walk into a meeting full of recovery, love, fellowship, and fun. Abstinent sponsors were available, and a group of about eight of us ate lunch together afterwards, did things together, and gave service beyond the group level. (Our specialty was entertainment for OA events.) We had parties at … Read More
Unboxing My Disease I’ve been in OA for almost a decade, and I’ve had various levels of recovery. In the last few years, I entered in the deepest, darkest relapse I’d ever experienced. The only thing I can say I did right was to keep coming back. I’ve recently been going through old boxes that have been undisturbed for ten years. They’re all labeled … Read More
Astounded and Amazed I believe that a Power greater than myself can restore me to sanity because it has been proven to me over and over in so many situations. Moreover, I believe that only a Power greater than myself can restore me to sanity because I never could stick with any plan of eating when I was relying on my own Power. … Read More
Reworking the Basics How did I get to the point of isolation? I binged; I ate to numb myself from my problems and stress, my disappointments in life. I was embarrassed by my eating behavior and didn’t want to face my friends, so I withdrew. I forgot what I’d learned through working the Steps; I forgot because I stopped working them. I forgot … Read More
The Day’s Help My life has been changed by Step Eleven. My whole life, I’d been searching for connection with God and had a desire to do his will. (My Higher Power is God, but as you read this, fill in your name for your Higher Power and use the pronouns that work for you.) But I was unable to connect to God … Read More
Foundation for Spiritual Growth When I was 16, I left the religion of my family and began a deep search for meaning. I thought I’d found my answer and settled into complacent spirituality until the age of 35, when I came into OA. As I began to understand the Steps and work them, I approached Step Three with confidence. I had already investigated my … Read More
Callback I am just coming back from a bingeing relapse that started with me eating two pints of ice cream as an appetizer. I went out searching for a 24-hour grocery store at 4 o’clock in the morning on Christmas Eve to buy ice cream. I ended up at a gas station in an area so crime-ridden that there was an … Read More
