First, I had to get past the mourning stage. I arrived at OA grieving the loss of my best friend, lover, and confidante—my go-to for any emotional relationship. Compulsive overeating had replaced many important relationships in my life, leaving me in a turbulent, one-sided, love-hate situation. OA was gentle in guiding me to a healthier state of mind, putting food into the category of “fuel” and encouraging me to turn over my food-dependence so I could investigate the deeper spiritual journey awaiting an abstinent woman in her 50s.

After the seriousness of being under the disease’s influence, I found myself really opening to a lighter sense of self. Spiritually, I lost a ton of weight when I stopped making a week’s worth of groceries my higher power. I found my higher self, full of light, and the light filled my chest area with a peppermint-tingly feeling that spread to my heart. The light made room for the absolute pleasure of listening to birds singing in trees outside my window, and it gave me a genuine smile, born of that sense of freedom from compulsive overeating.

Life started to hum around me, and I laughed at the sheer pleasure of watching an orange sunset over the golden waters of Narragansett Bay. Plenty of opportunities for genuine laughter have arisen, but no longer do I laugh at the expense of others. I stopped acknowledging jokes that had a cruel bend, and now I no longer hear any.

“We aren’t a glum lot” (Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th. ed., p.132). Joy, happiness, humor, and laughter come in recovery. Real life, lived in this moment and in this day, is enough.

— Nancy E., Warren, Rhode Island USA

  • Surrender Happens 24/7

    When I came into OA, I was on the edge of a mental breakdown. I’d tried everything to stop…
  • True Freedom

    When a fellow OA member suggested I reflect on what true freedom looks like for me, I disc…
  • Fully Covered

    I was thinking about why we buy car insurance aside from the fact that it is required by l…
Load More Related Articles
  • Low-Tech Outreach

    I am on my intergroup’s public information committee. We make flyers with a tear-off porti…
  • Available to Everyone

    Here are a few ways I carry the message to other compulsive overeaters. I print out OA’s C…
  • Radio-Active

    I was listening to a commentary about obesity on our local radio station. The commentator …
Load More By admin
  • Thirty Days!

    I’ve reached my twenty-ninth day of abstinence. Tomorrow will be my weighing day and my hi…
  • A Series of Miracles

    In 2011, I weighed 534 pounds (242 kg) and was unable to walk due to sepsis from an E. col…
  • Shining Miracles

    Before I’d ever heard of OA or its Principles and practices, my only desire was to lose we…
Load More In Recovery
Comments are closed.

Check Also

Low-Tech Outreach

I am on my intergroup’s public information committee. We make flyers with a tear-off porti…