Newcomers Richer, Saner, and New I just finished my first year in OA, and it has been amazing. I am convinced it was GOD, the Gift of Desperation, that got me to my first meeting. I accepted Step One then, and I honestly faced the truth about my disease. I had used bad eating habits to cover up feelings, comfort myself in times of stress, … Read More
Newcomers The Magic Number I should be the poster child for “keep coming back” because my stubbornness is finally paying off. I regularly showed up to a meeting once a week for almost two years, but I wasn’t working the program and I didn’t have a sponsor. Today, I am a newcomer with a newcomer’s mind. Until a month ago, I did little more … Read More
Steps Connection Bridge Step Eight: Made a list of all persons we had harmed and become willing to make amends to them all. The list of people I had harmed was very fresh in my mind the day I walked into OA. In fact, it was branded on my conscience and burned fiercely as shame whenever I encountered someone I had harmed. But … Read More
Higher Power The Addict Mask It is not my job to fight the addict. It has never been my job to fight the addict. I can’t fight the addict. The addict is too strong and powerful for me. The addict is nasty. He plays by no rules. He lies, cheats, steals, and will do anything to destroy me. The addict wears a mask: This mask … Read More
How OA Changed My Life Better Now I have changed my focus: I used to say to myself, when I was about to overeat, “This will add half a pound (.2 kg) to my weight.” That consequence was not effective in stopping me from overeating. It seemed too distant, too much like “I will deal with that later.” I’ve now identified something that is affected the moment … Read More
Traditions Service and Belonging Our First Tradition states, “Our common welfare should come first; personal recovery depends upon OA unity.” To be part of this whole, to belong, my piece of the puzzle is service. The Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions of Overeaters Anonymous states: “We need daily opportunities to be of service to other compulsive overeaters, opportunities which the OA group provides” (p. … Read More
Working the Program Adjusting Focus I was a great believer in whatever the next diet, philosophy, or trick was. You see, I knew there was a solution. Desperate, bingeing, swearing off, gaining weight, once-in-a-blue-moon losing weight through unhealthy restricting, and begging God to help me, eventually I found my way to OA. I was in another Twelve Step program, so I knew asking for help … Read More
Newcomers Tools & Concepts Nurturing is Our Nature One of my self-care activities is to spend time with the beautiful wildflowers that we are blessed to have in Tennessee. One of the first wildflowers to announce the coming of spring around here is the bloodroot, and I took pictures just as some were beginning to blossom. As I looked at the small cluster of flowers (right), I thought … Read More
Steps Facing It, Feeling It There it was. I had done the first three Steps with my sponsor and we both knew what was coming next. He knew it was going to be a big step in my recovery, but to me it looked more like a pending emotional breakdown. Turns out he was right. I had built a pretty good system of denial and … Read More
Newcomers Attitude Adjustment During one of my regular OA meetings, something triggered an uncomfortable, awkward feeling that I couldn’t explain. As I made the long drive home, the feeling continued to intensify: I decided I would never attend another meeting. I knew how dangerous that thought was to my abstinence, but I couldn’t push it out of my mind. The next day I … Read More
