Tools & Concepts Working the Program Eight Other Tools Here I sit, self-quarantined in the middle of a viral pandemic after returning home from the teeming petri dishes of an airport and airplane. I’ve been advised to stay put for two weeks, which is just as well since some of my meetings are closed indefinitely. So, what’s a compulsive overeater to do? Isolate? I think not. Last time I … Read More
Service Tools & Concepts Making Connections It’s as simple as this: I settled for food. To block the pain of my love starved existence, I used food and sugar until my carefully constructed façade of beautiful well-being began to bloat from the excesses I needed to eat to feel safe. But I had to do something to keep from losing my looks, the one thing that … Read More
Fellowship Courage and Magic I love OA retreats and workshops. I want to tell my OA fellows to jump in, don’t hesitate, make the commitment, and just go! I sometimes hesitate, but once I’ve gotten up the courage to commit to a retreat, magic happens! I show up and participate, just as I do in my OA recovery. I connect with people like me … Read More
Higher Power Let God The AA Big Book outlines “the spiritual answer and program of action” (4th ed., p. 42), which hundreds had followed with success at the time it was written. Now millions of people follow the Twelve Step path with miraculous stories of recovery. Ours is a spiritual program. What exactly does that mean? I grew up in an organized religion. As … Read More
Relapse Relapse & Recovery Reworking the Basics How did I get to the point of isolation? I binged; I ate to numb myself from my problems and stress, my disappointments in life. I was embarrassed by my eating behavior and didn’t want to face my friends, so I withdrew. I forgot what I’d learned through working the Steps; I forgot because I stopped working them. I forgot … Read More
Recovery Working the Program Action and Potential When I think of powerlessness, I get an image of myself as a lightbulb alone in a box on the shelf. I’m powerless, but I have potential. If I connect with my power source, if I’m attached to a fixture or socket and the light switch is turned on, then my potential comes to fruition: I can shine warm, useful … Read More
Recovery Relationships Living Connected I would rather live in recovery than die in isolation. These words came to me as a spiritual truth, simple yet profound. Living in recovery is not easy—it takes daily work—yet it beats the alternative. I am an introvert and crave solitude. It is one of my spiritual needs. However, before recovery, I was unable to distinguish between solitude and … Read More
Anorexia & Bulimia Most of All, Hope I grew up as an only child with alcoholic overeaters for parents. For the first seventeen years of my life, I dealt with two drunken “rageaholics” acting crazy. I never knew what would happen. I walked around in sheer panic and terror, afraid my parents would divorce, afraid Mom would drink herself to death, afraid Dad would kill someone on … Read More
Recovery Relationships Old Errors, New Hope Step Twelve: Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these Steps, we tried to carry this message to compulsive overeaters and to practice these principles in all our affairs. I know I am not alone, because of the fellowship I find in the OA rooms. This knowing works positively in all areas of my life—just as the Twelfth … Read More
Diversity Recovery Around the World Prayer Positions I came to OA seventeen years ago this week. I’m deeply grateful to my Higher Power, who gave me the gift of the program and the willingness to keep coming back. I live in a small community in the hills, and my choice of meetings is very restricted, so I find myself listening to podcasts—often! Many thanks to all those members … Read More
