Working the Program Showing Up for Practice I used to be someone who would dive into things and give 100 percent, but only until the going got tough or I became bored. Then I’d move on—from jobs, weight-loss programs, even interests. For me to keep coming back to OA is testimony of the power of this program. I keep coming back because: OA works long-term when nothing … Read More
How OA Changed My Life Unwrapping For me, being a compulsive overeater is a gift. It came wrapped in ugly, grimy paper, but it’s still a gift. The ugly paper represents how my illness treated me: It made me eat so much I got really fat, made it so that even if did lose weight I gained it back, and it made a glutton of me. … Read More
How OA Changed My Life Every Minute, Every Situation The key threads woven into and through my soul and my program of recovery are hope and gratitude. The hope I felt at my first OA meeting was probably what kept me coming back, even though I wasn’t sure for what, besides weight loss, and even though my insides were twisted with pain, anger, and resentment. (I didn’t even know … Read More
Traditions Service and Belonging Our First Tradition states, “Our common welfare should come first; personal recovery depends upon OA unity.” To be part of this whole, to belong, my piece of the puzzle is service. The Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions of Overeaters Anonymous states: “We need daily opportunities to be of service to other compulsive overeaters, opportunities which the OA group provides” (p. … Read More
Service Tools & Concepts The Blessing of Technology I first came to OA almost seventeen years ago. At that time, I lived in a large city where many OA meetings were available. I got a sponsor, went to great local meetings, and stayed abstinent for about five months. Then my husband got laid off, and we had to make a giant life change. We moved across the country … Read More
Relapse Telephone Connection Questions I’m blessed with over twelve years of abstinence after a horrific fourteen-year relapse. What did I do differently? I became more honest, willing, and open with my fellows and my sponsor. No longer do I try to look like I have it all together when I don’t, because that way of thinking leads me right back into the food. I … Read More
Steps A Spiritual Gauge The June 1 readings in For Today and Voices of Recovery are both about Step Six. The way I practice and understand this Step today involves my perspective. As I grow in relationship with my loving Higher Power through the process of surrender and trust, I see myself differently. Instead of seeing myself as flawed or defective, I see myself … Read More
Fellowship Tools & Concepts Pass It On My first few years in OA, I was working the Twelve Step program my own way. It didn’t work. I heard the suggestion to get a sponsor, so I did—several times— but I never bothered to talk to them. After four of the most painful years of my existence, having one foot in the Fellowship and the other pointing outward, … Read More
Working the Program Giving Service, Receiving Help I am a compulsive eater who arrived in OA six years ago and has been in continuous abstinence ever since. I maintain a weight loss of more than 40 kilograms (88 lbs). I know I have an emotional, spiritual, and physical disease and need to keep my recovery strong by doing daily work. This is a simple program, not an … Read More
Working the Program Know-How I don’t really know how a computer works. People with comprehension greater than mine designed this amazing tool. But I don’t need to understand all the intricacies of a computer in order to use one. If I just follow simple directions, I can do pretty amazing things with words and pictures, such as send and receive messages in a flash, … Read More