Recovery Working the Program Able to Identify A simple definition of insanity is “unsound reasoning and judgment.” Where has my reasoning and judgment been unsound around food? I have been continuously abstinent for twenty-four years, maintaining a 100+ pound (45+ kg) weight loss. My food plan is sugar-free, flour-free, and volume-free. I follow a structured approach because it is the foundation of my physical recovery: it is … Read More
Meetings Tools & Concepts Just Like Me Attending my first OA meeting was the result of seeing some dramatic changes in a close friend. We had known each other long enough that we knew each other’s big secret: We were compulsive eaters. It was fine to share such an intimacy on a personal level, but the thought of doing it in a room full of strangers seemed … Read More
Anorexia & Bulimia Diversity Gateway to Freedom I began OA at age 28 after attempting suicide; I’d gained 3 pounds (1.5 kg) after a bulimic episode, peaking at 107 pounds (49 kg). I was nuts; absolutely lost in the mental illness of food preoccupation and self-obsession. I began OA that next day and never left the rooms, our community, and my life of recovery. What I noticed when … Read More
How OA Changed My Life Reel Comedy “Come on in! We’ve been waiting for you!” That’s what I heard as I walked through the doors of an OA meeting in 2015. Two ladies were sitting in the meeting room, both long timers. One of them had moved to our small coastal town a year ago, found no OA meetings, and decided to start one. I struggled to … Read More
Steps Step 2: Loving Restoration When I heard Step Two read aloud at meetings, it used to bother me. “Restored to sanity?” I thought disbelievingly. “I can’t point to a time when I ever was sane! What sanity is there to restore me to?” Indeed, I behaved very insanely before I came into program, which was ten years ago when I was 13 pounds (6 … Read More
