Steps Fourth Step Persistence My sponsor taught me “Abstinence no matter what,” and for me, it all begins with willingness. I have severe and persistent mental illness, or SPMI. I don’t see myself as a victim, but I do feel anger regarding my symptoms. I’ve learned, though, that everyone in OA has challenges in addition to their overeating illness that make it difficult to … Read More
Meetings Tools & Concepts OA Is For Me OA is for me—and it has been ever since a friend brought me to program in December 1981. People of all shapes and sizes told my story. I found a place where I belong. Despite sometimes feeling like I belong in a subset of OA, due to multiple allergies, afflictions, anxiety, and depression, I belong. I am here because I’m … Read More
Recovery Finally Home I am 62 years old and a recovering anorexic and bulimic. After suffering from this disease since the age of 15, I reached my final bottom on June 2, 2014, and walked into an OA meeting in Warwick, New York. No one at the meeting looked like me. I immediately said, “They are judging me,” when in fact, I was doing the judging. Then … Read More