Beginning at Dusk Many ancient societies begin their day at dusk (i.e., the evening before). After I had been in Overeaters Anonymous for a while, I began to feel this system might work for me and bring a level of serenity to my life that I hadn’t achieved before. Here’s how it has worked: After I’ve finished my evening meal and taken a … Read More
It Can Happen to Anyone On April 24, 2019, I lost my mother very unexpectedly due to a stroke. About a month after my mother passed, my year-long romantic relationship ended very unexpectedly. Today, my father is in a nursing home with dementia. I am an only child. Basically, my biggest fears have been happening, and for all intents and purposes, I’ve been alone. I … Read More
Modified Study Guide I wanted to share with the Fellowship how much I appreciate the Twelve Step Workshop and Study Guide and how I have used it. I started by reading it cover to cover. I was excited to learn that such a variety of our OA literature is referenced as well as the good old AA literature. When I came into OA in 1978 (and hit … Read More
So Much Better Nearly every day, I fill out a Tenth Step form. This was something my sponsor gave me a few weeks after I entered program even though it was some months before I formally reached the Tenth Step. As I fill out the form, I reflect on how I’ve worked my program that day, what my gratitudes are, and whether I’ve been resentful, fearful, dishonest, or … Read More
Self-Amends Prayer As a part of making amends to myself, which was suggested by my sponsor, I created the following prayer. The prayer lists positive characteristics that oppose my character defects, which I discovered when working my Fourth and Fifth Steps. By saying this prayer daily and out loud to my HP, I am acting as if I believe these good characteristics are true about myself and trusting my HP to lead me to this recovered … Read More
Only Today Today is it. I don’t have to do more than that. I’m grateful to my first sponsor for drumming into me the concept of “one day at a time.” When I worried about the future, she’d remind me to look down at my feet and say aloud 1) where I am standing, 2) what day it is, and 3) “That’s all there is. That’s all I get.” … Read More
Expressed Emotions Before OA, which for me was fourteen years and 140 pounds (64 kg) ago, I didn’t know why I overate. But after Steps Four through Nine, I came to understand that I was using food to escape from unpleasant emotions. If I was angry or depressed, I ate to numb my anger or cheer myself up. I binged or acted out with character defects: I expressed anger by shouting … Read More
Forward Motion I remember the honest and gut-wrenching inventories I went through when I worked my Fourth Step. The first time was difficult. The second time was not as difficult, but it took me deeper into my hidden valleys as the layers of secrets were peeled away. Feelings of sadness, anger, and fear were thrown at me like javelins. I had no idea they were deep inside of me, and their … Read More
First Things When I entered Overeaters Anonymous, I simply wanted help to stop bingeing. I couldn’t stop no matter what I did, so walking into the rooms, I already knew I was powerless over food. What I didn’t know was that my compulsive eating was a symptom of a disease. I understand now that I have “a disease that affects the person on three levels—physical, spiritual, and … Read More
A Slogan that Works I came into Overeaters Anonymous on March 26, 2005, thinking that I only had a weight problem. Soon l became aware that this program is not about the food. It is about how I feel about myself inside and how I react to life in general. When people shared, they spoke about the slogans, but I didn’t think of looking up at the meeting’s banner, which displayed them, to find … Read More
