Sponsoring Tools & Concepts Two-Way Trust I have been abstinent fifty-seven days and am currently working on Step Three. Having a sponsor has been a vital part of working my program. For me, being sponsored was the critical element in my starting the Steps. I would not be able to work the Steps without my sponsor giving me questions to work on and apply to me … Read More
Gratitude Recovery My True Value Freedom from compulsion and excess weight is the treasure that those of us plagued by food addiction covet most! What does this freedom look like? A wise man said, “It’s a sparkle in the eye that exemplifies it.” Another source says it’s the genuine, natural smile on one’s face that whispers acceptance of others—after all, a smile is the universal … Read More
Steps Traditions Make a Right Turn If I wasn’t stuffing my mouth with food, I was “verbally vomiting” out of it! My former purpose in “venting” wound up revealing itself to me and others as a lack of acceptance and a failure to trust that God is in control. A lack of acceptance indicates discontent and disagreement; a discrepancy between the way people and things are … Read More
Meetings Tools & Concepts Scripting Strength About ten years ago, my home meeting was dealing with talkative, unruly, and sensitive newcomers. The meeting was beginning to feel unsafe. We regulars, being the people pleasers we are, considered just letting them talk without a time limit. Luckily, sanity ruled that out. We considered removing them from the meeting by having a special “newcomer time” in another space. … Read More
Sponsoring Tools & Concepts On Being Asked to Be Your Sponsor Now, everything is cool. We’re at that stage when trust, respect feel sure. We sense a link in struggle, pain, and hope. As we engage, things fall into place; we think in sync. But someday, I’m going to let you down, and then you’ll feel betrayed. I’ll be too late. I’ll fib. Put myself first. You’ll see a frown. Will … Read More
Service Tools & Concepts For Others and For Me Service is a big part of my recovery. My disease is one of isolation, and selfishness is a character defect of mine. By giving service, I am forced to interact with others and become selfless. I do things for others without expecting anything in return. It’s a whole new concept for me, doing favors with no strings attached! I started … Read More
Tools & Concepts In Good Stead I joined OA in 2009. Below is a list of behaviors and actions I took (in addition to getting a sponsor, working the Twelve Steps, and using the Tools) in the past eighteen months that helped me stay abstinent and spiritually and emotionally recover. Without the program, I don’t think I could have done these things for myself. I live … Read More
Recovery Relationships Friends and Family—Reframed Recovery has allowed me to enjoy the pleasures of friendship, really for the first time since childhood. Now I can truly say that I am a friend and I have friends, both in and out of the rooms. When I was in the food, I was so unhappy I couldn’t be open to the often-subtle pleasures of friendship, such as … Read More
Recovery Relationships Better for Both In managing food addiction, there is no “putting it up on a shelf and never touching it again;” it’s an ongoing challenge to keep food within boundaries that are now set and kept. For me, it is also the same with sex. I have to keep my thinking within certain healthy boundaries whenever I think about sex or myself as … Read More