Recovery Healthy Resolution Every year since I was 13 years old, my New Year’s resolution had been to lose weight. It wasn’t until 2014, when I was 23, that I altered that New Year’s resolution to instead heal my relationship with food. After hitting bottom, bingeing every night on a wide variety of foods, my fear of change was overpowered by the pain … Read More
How OA Changed My Life Recovery Honest-to-Goodness I love reading and learning about the Steps and Traditions through our Twelve and Twelve literature (I am brand-new to any Twelve Step program). When I read Step Five for the first time, this sentence really stood out for me: “Honesty is a key factor in our recovery from compulsive eating, and so we will want to develop this trait” … Read More
Higher Power Spirituality A Big-Enough God When I was new to recovery, I would call my sponsor and complain about circumstances and how hard it was to stay abstinent. My sponsor would suggest that I get a bigger God. It took me a while to really understand what she meant; I believed in God, but realized I wasn’t able to trust him. Through working the Steps, … Read More
Recovery Re-Call I recently did battle with another disease: shingles. I had so much nerve pain I could not go to meetings, and I felt abandoned. I was forced to make phone calls. Every OA member I called offered help and prayers. Even when I was hopeless, they gave me hope. Nerve pain is similar to the disease of compulsive overeating. Like … Read More
Higher Power Spirituality Willing Release In the Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions of Alcoholics Anonymous it says, “No man, we saw, could believe in God and defy Him, too. Belief meant reliance, not defiance” (p. 31). This is interesting because it clarifies the difference between understanding the concept of a higher power, and actually believing in a higher power. To truly believe is to accept … Read More
Steps Step 6: Wishy-Washy I recently had to change out my dishwasher. That doesn’t seem like a big thing, but I put it off as long as I could. I used duct tape for months to keep the front panel on. Even after I needed extra rinses to get the dishes clean, I still took a couple of weeks to order a new dishwasher. … Read More
Service Food Processor This morning I was struck by the thought that preparation is a key element in my plan of eating and has a significant place in my daily action plan. Before OA, I made meals, but it wasn’t the same. Now, I am willing to commit the time it takes to think out a menu; shop for the ingredients (or, lucky … Read More
Service Principle Portions A plan of eating is only one of the Tools, but it’s a great introduction to working the program when worked diligently. Ever since I began using a weighed-and-measured plan and calling it in to a sponsor every day (a process I resisted mightily!), I have been noticing the lessons it teaches me about the Principles behind the Steps. Honesty—being … Read More
Service Sponsorship Share I believe the OA Fellowship tells us that all recovering members have two things in common: They have a sponsor, and they are willing to be a sponsor. Being a sponsor has given me so much more than I could ever give. I have been touched by the love and appreciation I receive from those I sponsor. In reaching out to … Read More
Service Service Call The telephone is the hardest Tool for me to use. I have stubbornly resisted this Tool during all my ten years in program. Even in my teenage years, I did not like answering calls from my girlfriends. Whoever heard of a teenage girl who doesn’t like to talk with friends on the phone? My disease causes me to feel inadequate, … Read More