How OA Changed My Life Recovery From Self-Help to Sanity I walked into my first OA meeting a little over two and a half years ago. It had taken me almost forty years to recognize that my eating disorder and compulsive food behaviors were out of control. I’d spent my entire adult life climbing the ladder of success, but when I reached the top, I realized it was leaning against … Read More
Recovery Relationships Meditation: “Quality Time” This is a story of my relationship with HP, whom I choose to call God. I did all of my Steps up to Step Eleven. The Eleventh Step said for me to pray and meditate. I was good at praying and asking for what I wanted, but staying quiet and listening? That was all new to me. All I knew … Read More
Relapse Relapse & Recovery 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
Gratitude Recovery Gifts Abundant and Accessible My area is blessed with a face-to-face meeting that occurs at noon every weekday. As a young professional, I’m thankful for this regular lunchtime meeting, though often, when I am able to make it, I’m rushing in and out between work appointments. Rushing, to be honest, is a byproduct of some character defects I’m asking my Higher Power to remove: … Read More
Gratitude Recovery Summer Steps and Smiles As I reflect on the unofficial start of the summer season, I’m filled with gratitude for OA. I first came into these sacred rooms on a Monday, right after the Fourth of July. Thank God that summer party at a friend’s lake house drove me to look into OA. A childhood friend had become sober in another Twelve Step fellowship … Read More
Keep Coming Back Relapse A Life Transformed Last year I was 14 and a half stone (92 kg; 203 lbs) and ate incessantly when I wasn’t at work. I ate anything in sight. My knees complained as I struggled up the stairs at the end of my shifts. My heart was unhappy about coping with my extra weight. Despite knowing what I should do and promising every … Read More
Anorexia & Bulimia Diversity Love and Light When I was 60 years old and abstinent for six months, I had overwhelming feelings. I felt as if I were going crazy. How did people do this without medication? As time went on, I became more desperate, going to two or three meetings a day, meditating, doing Step work, and making outreach calls. Nothing gave me the peace I … Read More
Steps Define “Meaningful” Step Six: Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character I just celebrated my fourteenth year in OA. That’s amazing to me and I’m so grateful that my obsessions with food, overeating, and dieting have almost always been lifted—or I can use Tools or white-knuckle it until the obsession passes, which it quickly does. I have … Read More
Higher Power Spirituality Emotion Motion I am a completely different person today than when I came into food recovery in 2011. I think I am different on a cellular level. Why? Because I am no longer absorbed in food thoughts. My life for decades was directed by whether and what to eat. These thoughts occupied many hours each day! But until I came to OA … Read More
Spirituality Clarity Without Certainty “Our path in OA transcends weight loss and a return to emotional health.” — Seeking the Spiritual Path I have been in program for thirty-five years and I’m blessed with long-term recovery. I feel moved to write about my journey toward developing a relationship with a Higher Power. I’d grown up with a concept of a punishing, judgmental God I … Read More