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
New Presence Just a month before my fifth OA anniversary, my father suffered a massive heart attack and was placed on life support. By the end of the day, there was little hope for Dad’s recovery, but some family members were not ready to accept that truth. If ever there was an excuse for this compulsive eater to dive into the food, … Read More
Doubling Down At the ripe age of 69, I got married for the first time and also relocated from a booming metropolitan area to a more rural, suburban community. Since moving, my weight has slowly decreased due to increased activity and vigorous program work in OA. I knew that adjusting to marriage and a new living environment would be high stress. Luckily, … Read More
Tackle with Dignity Some OA members suggested I bear witness to my experience of living with chronic renal failure and how the program is helping me cope. I’ve been regularly attending meetings for several years, and through service, I have grown in self-esteem and feeling like a useful and active member of our Fellowship. It’s incredible how being among fellow sufferers relieves my … Read More
Speaker’s Struggle I am coming up on thirty-two years of abstinence in OA, maintaining a 180-pound (82-kg) weight loss. Anyone in recovery will know that for me to hold on to my recovery, I’ve had to work hard at passing it on. In ways direct (sponsorship) and indirect (retreats, workshops), I’ve worked with literally hundreds of members over the years, taking them … Read More
Making a Meeting After giving birth to my sixth child, I realized I was obese. I had always dieted away my postpartum fat, but this time I was obsessed with food, and no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t keep the weight off for more than a few weeks. I weighed over 170 pounds (77 kg). My Higher Power helped me find … Read More
All Gone I’ve always been an angry person. When I was eight, I became enraged and pulled a soap dish out of the bathroom wall. In adolescence, I sought help from teachers, pastors, and a psychologist, but my fear of telling family secrets made it hard for anyone to help me. Something I’ve always loved to do is cook and eat. On … Read More
Cleaning House I haven’t read much about how overeating’s unmanageability is reflected in the disorganization in our homes. My eating compulsion began with a vengeance when I left home for college in the early sixties. I coped with stress and insecurity by taking food from roommates’ care packages and money from their purses to feed the candy machines downstairs. (Later while in … Read More
Consequences and Magic I came into OA when I was 35, after realizing that I felt about food the way alcoholics feel about liquor. If I started eating, I didn’t stop until the food was gone. But I didn’t understand being powerless over food; I just wanted to lose weight and move on. You can’t die from food, I thought. Well, I had … Read More
Gift of Empathy I have gained many gifts from the OA program and recently realized a new one: empathy. I’m not sure I ever had true empathy. I know my eating behaviors made me very selfish. I was nice and respectful to people, but only if there was something in it for me, such as keeping my job, being liked, receiving thanks, or being perceived … Read More