Fully Covered

I was thinking about why we buy car insurance aside from the fact that it is required by law. Car insurance is basically protecting my asset in the event of an accident. The car I drive is valuable; therefore, I opt for full coverage. This means that no matter what happens, it can be restored (or replaced) if damaged.

I look at the disease of compulsive overeating as a potential car crash. This disease hopes I carry minimal insurance so that, if I relapse, the price to be restored will be too much and it will prevail. I have been in two major collisions with this disease in my decade of recovery. Both times, the relapse was catastrophic, and thinking in terms of insurance, I am curious about what policy I carried when the crashes occurred. I am really grateful that I was not an “uninsured motorist” because neither time did I leave the rooms of Overeaters Anonymous.

My last relapse basically totaled my body. A relationship ended, and I was convinced that I could not survive. I buried myself in huge amounts of food, and the food convinced me my life was beyond repair. Within six weeks I had gained 40 pounds (18 kg). I was eight years into recovery and let my insurance lapse. Thankfully, the people in this program were there, picking me up, encouraging me, and reminding me that food is a liar.

The people in the rooms who carried full insurance against this disease added me to their policy until I could once again see the value in my asset—my life. Full coverage looked like:

• people who prayed and meditated
• people who worked the Steps
• people who examined their behaviors and made repairs
• people who participated in meetings
• people who studied literature
• people who got outside help if needed
• people who trusted God

After a year in relapse, I decided to drive my way out of this wreck. Slowly I started making changes in my insurance policy. I dove into the Steps, worked with my sponsor, and prayed a lot. Interestingly enough, I stopped eating compulsively. Each day, I assessed if I needed to supplement my insurance policy in order to be protected from this disease.

No one is immune from a car crash, but if we maintain full coverage and keep our eyes on God, we will surely continue to “trudge the Road of Happy Destiny” (Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th ed., p. 164).

— Jill S., Pflugerville, Texas USA

Did you know OA offers a Recovery Insurance Policy document as a free download for you and a fellow member to sign? Find it at oa.org/document-library under category “Twelfth Step Within.”