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
Steps Traditions To Ask Humility has been a challenge for me. In the past, I think my focus was on feeling humble; I would try ways to make myself feel humble. I would change my facial expression, body language, and words to control myself into feeling humble. Maybe I was trying to control others, so that they would see me as humble. I’ve had … Read More
Steps Moment by Moment Step Eleven: Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God as we understood Him, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out. Recently, I found myself in a place of fear, and my gut reaction is to want to control the world around me to feel safe. My … Read More
Higher Power Trusted Others I’ve heard that a Higher Power can be anything or anyone but me. However, I do believe in listening to my own intuition and conscience, in addition to outside voices. I believe in God, but I don’t believe in a God who directly intervenes in my every interaction. Instead, God is embodied in appropriate others, in my case, my sponsors, … Read More
Diversity Newcomers Recovery in the Middle I was so new to program I didn’t really know what this was supposed to mean: “It works if you work it.” I thought it was corny and wondered why every meeting ended with everyone holding hands and saying it. After several weeks, my HP spoke to me, when I heard a spiritual advisor offer this analogy about faith: One … Read More
Fellowship Recovery Responsibility and Reward Service is both the responsibility and the reward for recovery through the Twelve Steps of Overeaters Anonymous. During my thirty-plus years in OA, I’ve had many service positions. I’ve loved every one of them and learned from them too. Service has taught me about myself, about human nature and addictive behavior, and about my weaknesses and assets; it’s also taught … Read More
Telephone Tools & Concepts Mountain Call I’ve always loved hiking and being in the mountains. When I gained enough confidence after three years of working an OA program, I signed up for a seven-day mountaineering trip. We would hike over snow and ice in the Canadian Rockies, carrying all our equipment and food and staying in alpine huts along the way. I was one of the … Read More
Sponsoring Tools & Concepts On Being Asked to Be Your Sponsor Now, everything is cool. We’re at that stage when trust, respect feel sure. We sense a link in struggle, pain, and hope. As we engage, things fall into place; we think in sync. But someday, I’m going to let you down, and then you’ll feel betrayed. I’ll be too late. I’ll fib. Put myself first. You’ll see a frown. Will … Read More
Steps Priceless Peace Before I was halfway through my Ninth Step, I experienced, as the Big Book promises, a new freedom I’d never dreamed was possible: “Fear of people and of economic insecurity will leave us” (Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th. ed., p. 84). I was free from the fear of financial insecurity. The feeling was new and odd. Much of my life had been … Read More
Steps Morning Crossing When I drew this picture, I realized that I was like the baby loon on its mother’s back. If I try to venture out alone, I am facing a lot of danger from my disease, which hides below the surface. So every morning, I have to turn over my will to God and ride along, safe because God cares for … Read More