Gratitude Recovery Gratitude Building For as long as I can remember, I carried so many of the world’s burdens on my shoulders. I worried about gas prices, nuke attacks, and the stupid things the men in my life did. I worried that I was ugly and couldn’t wear stylish clothes because they didn’t come in size “triple-Z.” I felt the need to share these … Read More
Relapse Relapse & Recovery The Day’s Help My life has been changed by Step Eleven. My whole life, I’d been searching for connection with God and had a desire to do his will. (My Higher Power is God, but as you read this, fill in your name for your Higher Power and use the pronouns that work for you.) But I was unable to connect to God … Read More
Higher Power Spirituality Craving vs. Conscious Contact I’ve long felt that, for compulsive eaters, one of our worst fears is simply being hungry and having to sit still and do nothing about it. The association between physical hunger and existential void triggers the sense of hopelessness that preceded so many of my forays into the deadly rituals from which I now abstain. Its black-sheep brother, the craving, … Read More
Tools & Concepts Writing Worthy of Writing I feel that writing is one of the most valuable Tools in our OA toolbox. It’s available twenty-four hours a day and is a way to connect with our own thoughts and feelings and be nurtured and nourished, which is what I’m always seeking as a compulsive overeater. At any given time, I have on hand several journals for writing, … Read More
Sponsoring Tools & Concepts Speed Dating for Sponsors At our annual retreat, a miscommunication turned into a fantastic new workshop. When the leader of a session on sponsorship referred to “speed dating,” several members of the organizing committee thought we were going to experience speed dating for sponsors! It seemed a natural progression: we could move from a session on the benefits of sponsorship to a practical activity. The … Read More
Sponsoring Tools & Concepts Perfect Meetings, Perfect Sponsors Our program works without us working it perfectly. I’m celebrating thirty years of abstinence, and I don’t even know how “working it perfectly” looks. Taking awkward baby steps, clumsily using the Tools, and making a haphazard job of the Steps and Traditions is enough for me. Expecting perfection from ourselves and others can cost us our recovery. I’ll be blunt: … Read More
Sponsoring Tools & Concepts Poem for My Sponsor Finally, the shame is beginning to melt, washed into simple awareness by the grace of your witness and understanding. Finally, I am not alone with my fear and grief. Finally, after all these long years, I have a companion for every occasion when I need reassurance, accountability, encouragement, forgiveness, or celebration of growth. Finally, I have a mirror for my … Read More
Telephone Tools & Concepts Interconnections When I first entered OA, I did not understand the interconnected web among the members. Someone gave me a daily readings book at my first meeting, but I never went back there. Years later, when I’d gained about 40 pounds (18 kg) and been warned I was pre-diabetic, I went to another meeting in a different city. I just listened … Read More
Recovery Relationships A New Love Song In my late 30s, I got way too excited about writing songs with my church’s music director. For several months, as we collaborated, I flirted with him and got enmeshed with his dream of selling songs commercially. I’d always been overweight, but during this time I was so alight with creative and sexual energy that I barely slept or ate, … Read More
Recovery Relationships Healing Relationships With OA Traditions I was one of those people who, when first arriving at OA is interested in all aspects of OA except for ____. And I had a list of what I was interested in and willing to give my time and attention to. The Twelve Steps? Yes. Telling someone what I ate? No. Getting a sponsor? No! Then came another bottom … Read More