Much in Common

I came into program in May of 1985. I didn’t think I could possibly fit in. I was finished with diets, but my weight and eating were out of control. Thank God I found Overeaters Anonymous.

I had been a yo-yo dieter all my life; I’m a sugar and carbs addict. I’d never understood my addiction, so every diet failed when I chose to “just have one” of what I call my “alkie” foods. My husband, who had found his own recovery in another Twelve Step program, told me about OA.

The reading “Welcome Home” (Taste of Lifeline, pp. XIII–XVI) changed my life forever. Others did what I did and thought how I thought about food! There truly was a place for me. I was not as weird or different as I had first believed.

OA is the only place I have found relief from this devastating disease of compulsive eating. The Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions have taught me to be a kinder, more thoughtful person. Tradition One speaks of unity, and I have learned I have many more commonalities with OA fellows than differences. This program teaches me to relate rather than compare. My fellows in OA may come from different backgrounds, but since I have learned to relate to similarities in others, I can build friendships with people I would not normally bond with. Program differences have only enabled me to learn a diversity of practices, and I have found abstinence. My life and food plan may be different from others’, but joining in unity with other compulsive eaters like me and learning how they are able to abstain gives me the strength and support I need to recover.

The OA Promise says, “Together we can do what we could never do alone.” When I step out of the isolation of this disease into the light of recovery, I find much similarity to keep us recovering together. I have found contented abstinence, one day at a time, thanks to our Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions. The Tradition of unity has connected me to others in this program like puzzle pieces I could never have imagined fitting together. Thanks to the God of my understanding. Thanks for the Tradition of unity.

— Ginny, New Jersey USA