How OA Changed My Life Recovery Mouthpeace One day, I was trying out a new slow cooker recipe I had created, and I wanted to taste it before serving it to my family. The food was hot, and I wasn’t careful to blow on it. I burned my mouth. I burned it pretty bad. It dawned on me in that painful moment that I’ve spent most of my … Read More
How OA Changed My Life Recovery Progressive Focus I was just prescribed progressive lenses for my glasses. If I keep my head straight and look forward, I can see. If I look up, down, or to the sides, everything is a blur. I am reminded that before my Higher Power blessed me with the gift of the Twelve Steps, I spent most of my life in a blur. … Read More
How OA Changed My Life Recovery Morning Person Before OA, mornings were a chore. When my alarm went off, I wanted nothing more than to pull the covers over my head and yell “Not fair!” at a God I thought was cruel and punishing. My overeating, my bingeing the night before, had taken its toll. Once again, I was not ready to function. Finding OA and working the … Read More
How OA Changed My Life Recovery From Self-Help to Sanity I walked into my first OA meeting a little over two and a half years ago. It had taken me almost forty years to recognize that my eating disorder and compulsive food behaviors were out of control. I’d spent my entire adult life climbing the ladder of success, but when I reached the top, I realized it was leaning against … Read More
How OA Changed My Life Recovery Balance in the Middle I showed up at my first OA meeting because I was exhausted from trying unsuccessfully to break the cycle of bingeing on sweets, feeling awful about my behavior and myself, restricting and exercising to compensate for bingeing, weighing myself often, and eventually bingeing on sweets again regardless of the number on the scale. I ate to comfort myself when I … Read More
Recovery Relationships New Options Before I found OA, food was my answer to everything and anything. If I had a problem, I would eat. Uncomfortable feelings meant more food. After spending time in OA, I came to believe and accept that food is an ineffective means of coping. Using food to cope is no longer an option for me. Now, I eat to live, … Read More
Recovery Relationships Starting That Moment I grew up in an American, Midwestern, blue-collar, motorcycle-riding family that fully embraced pride of all sorts—pride in our family, our country, our bikes, our tattoos and putting in an honest day’s labor. If family needed help, you showed up on Saturday and helped. You taught your kids how to fix engines, build things, and to listen to their mama. … Read More
Recovery Working the Program I Stayed Abstinent A favorite OA phrase of mine is “willing to go to any length” (Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th ed., p. 58). Practicing this has helped me stay abstinent, which for me is not eating foods with refined sugar listed in the first four ingredients, for twenty one and a half years. For me, this phrase means: Attending at least two OA meetings … Read More
Recovery Working the Program Shipwreck Survivor When I was growing up, I had a lot of emotions to deal with. I never learned good coping skills, so I handled situations by eating over them. I buried feelings that were too much for me. It was either eat or go crazy, so I ate. I like to compare my experience with a shipwreck. At first, I went … Read More
Recovery Relationships Apply Love “What we do have to offer is . . . a Fellowship in which we find and share the healing power of love” (The Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions of Overeaters Anonymous, Second Edition, p. 1). I recently shared my experience, strength, and hope regarding responding to someone who pushes my buttons. I shared how I literally apply love. When … Read More
