Recovery Relationships Spiritual Nourishment Before I came to OA, I thought I was the most confident 33-year-old out there. I had a great full-time job, a boyfriend, dog, my own apartment, and a car. Yet, I could not stop eating those binge foods. Then, I lost my ability to diet and kept gaining weight. I was a size 26 and had tried everything from diet programs to … Read More
Recovery Relationships Recovery in the Air “So we clean house with the family, asking each morning in meditation that our Creator show us the way of patience, tolerance, kindliness and love” (Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th ed., p. 83). I walked my daughter down the aisle on Saturday. I was a proud mama! Proud of her for the woman she is and proud of myself for the mom I’ve … Read More
Recovery Relationships Writing Away Resentments I imagine many members of OA have issues with their parents. Here is how I solved my problem with my mother. My mom and I never got along because she was so controlling and at times was abusive during my childhood. I felt completely controlled by her and also misunderstood and, frankly, unrecognized for who I was. I started eating … Read More
Steps Empowering Discovery When I first came to OA thirty-three years ago, I was a bundle of resentments. I’m sure I resented almost everyone in my life, and my coping mechanism was to try to be nice to others so that they would feel bad and do what I wanted them to. But that never seemed to work for very long, so I … Read More
Recovery Working the Program Program Beauties Sensitivity to criticism is a character trait of mine that started early on. (It even appeared as a comment on my third grade report card.) I felt criticized at home and developed an oversensitivity to any comment from anyone. I still have a tendency to misperceive comments or questions as criticism and react defensively, with anger and resentment. In OA, … Read More
Recovery Working the Program Resentment Prayer I learned early on in OA that if I had a resentment toward someone, I was to pray for the individual to get everything that I wanted for myself. After praying for such a person, I found out recently that my prayer was answered. The thing I wanted was to go back home and visit the small town in which … Read More
Steps Fourth Step Persistence My sponsor taught me “Abstinence no matter what,” and for me, it all begins with willingness. I have severe and persistent mental illness, or SPMI. I don’t see myself as a victim, but I do feel anger regarding my symptoms. I’ve learned, though, that everyone in OA has challenges in addition to their overeating illness that make it difficult to … Read More
Recovery Partner in Recovery When I was coming out of relapse six months ago, I used a practice that had worked for me before: getting a Partner in Recovery. A “P in R” is a peer in the program who is available for a daily check-in. I had learned this technique in Portland, Oregon, but since then had moved to Austin, Texas. At my … Read More
Working the Program Giving Service, Receiving Help I am a compulsive eater who arrived in OA six years ago and has been in continuous abstinence ever since. I maintain a weight loss of more than 40 kilograms (88 lbs). I know I have an emotional, spiritual, and physical disease and need to keep my recovery strong by doing daily work. This is a simple program, not an … Read More
How OA Changed My Life Smile Therapy I experimented with food for years before joining program. I noticed if I ate sugar in the morning, I was more likely to eat it in the afternoon, too, and also forget I’d already eaten some (the more I ate, the more I forgot). I noticed when I went without a certain sweet, I thought about it obsessively. When a … Read More