Recovery Relationships New Options Before I found OA, food was my answer to everything and anything. If I had a problem, I would eat. Uncomfortable feelings meant more food. After spending time in OA, I came to believe and accept that food is an ineffective means of coping. Using food to cope is no longer an option for me. Now, I eat to live, … Read More
Recovery Working the Program I Stayed Abstinent A favorite OA phrase of mine is “willing to go to any length” (Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th ed., p. 58). Practicing this has helped me stay abstinent, which for me is not eating foods with refined sugar listed in the first four ingredients, for twenty one and a half years. For me, this phrase means: Attending at least two OA meetings … Read More
Gratitude Recovery Rediscovery and Realizations There are so many things I am grateful for in my recovery. Here are a few: First and foremost, not doing that compulsive hand-to-mouth behavior. Early in my recovery, a large part of the “pink cloud” for me was euphoria at being released from decades of abusive eating. When qualifying, I shared that I was amazed at how many of … Read More
Steps Traditions Saying the Words Step Ten: Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong, promptly admitted it. Most days, I take personal inventory at the end of the day. It helps me sleep. I inventory fears, resentments, and stressful thoughts and beliefs. Wrongs seem to stem from those. I also list gratitudes, but not the things I think I should be grateful for. … Read More
Uncategorized Reframing the Puzzle Some of my worst character defects come out when I’m at work. As a perfectionist, I worry that I’ll make a mistake, but I also worry that I work too slowly. So I end up anxiously trying to find that perfect balance between checking everything again and again and finishing quickly. When asked to review the work of others, my … Read More
Recovery Relationships Freedoms Gained in OA First, I can go into a supermarket and not have to buy the sugars and carbs I’m addicted to. What a freedom and relief that is! “Not today!” I think to myself with gratitude. Also, I have the freedom to be happy in life and enjoy its pleasures. No longer is that dark shadow, the curse of addiction, crossing my … Read More
Steps Traditions Principle Focus This morning, I picked up my OA Twelve and Twelve to read Tradition One because I needed help with a challenging situation at work. I know how well Tradition One works to keep meetings strong and united, and I needed help working as a team with a colleague. When a conflict or difference of opinion comes up, “Tradition One guides … Read More
Keep Coming Back Relapse Courage to Persevere I first went to an OA meeting in February 1990, when a student of mine took me with her. It wasn’t an easy thing for her, admitting to her teacher that she had an addiction. Her courage taught me a lot. I couldn’t believe the First Step before I first took it—that I was powerless over food and my life … Read More
Recovery Relationships Healing Relationships With OA Traditions I was one of those people who, when first arriving at OA is interested in all aspects of OA except for ____. And I had a list of what I was interested in and willing to give my time and attention to. The Twelve Steps? Yes. Telling someone what I ate? No. Getting a sponsor? No! Then came another bottom … Read More
Atheists & Agnostics Something Like Physics I am a member of OA who is successfully working the program, and I am an atheist, or maybe an agnostic, but I’m not concerned with the label. I consider myself a spiritual person, but I do not have a Higher Power to whom I pray. I have been in OA for twenty-eight years. My current abstinence is six years. … Read More