Trust Higher Power Today
When obsessive thoughts come, like worry about regaining weight, turn to Higher Power because you open the door to Higher Power turning to you when you are in need.
Kevin McGuire
When I “Knew It All,” It Led to 10 Years of Relapse. Thankfully, the Longer I Am in OA, the Less I Know
Mimi D. from California USA has gained and lost 100 pounds (45 kg)—twice. The first time was during her first 18 years in OA. Thinking she was “cured” was the beginning of a decade of relapse and a rapid 100-pound weight gain. Yet today, she is abstinent and says, “My soul like a watered garden.” Learn how she found her way back to OA and abstinence.
Eight Practical Lessons I’ve Learned from Working OA’s Twelve Steps
Jean C. first joined OA 35 years ago but failed to work the Steps, which she attributes to another 18 years outside the rooms. Today, however, she is back, she is abstinent, and she is here to share what she has learned.
I Found My OA Recovery, so Why Did God Leave Me Stranded?
Diane D. did all the right things to find recovery in OA, from surrendering in Step One to adopting a plan of eating and throwing herself into service. But then everything crashed because of illness and an outside addiction, and God seemed nowhere to be found. How did she make it back to recovery?
During American Halloween, a Sugar Addict Can Hide in Plain Sight; In OA, a Sugar Addict Can Make a Meaningful Choice
This year and from now on, I will not hide my addiction in plain sight. I was so worried about the American Halloween holiday this year, wondering how in the world I was going to make it through the night while I was passing out candy and watching horror movies. In many ways, movies and … Continued
I Gained Weight in My Childhood to Stop Sexual Abuse; Decades Later, I Am Not Only Surviving But Thriving in OA
As a child, Bianca tried weight gain as a defense against her abuser’s desires. “Unfortunately, it did not work,” she says. But as an adult, she was able to overcome her trauma and emerge into a hopeful and healthy life with OA and therapy.
I Found Wealth and Wisdom in Step Ten
When a job offer didn’t turn out as expected, Anonymous from the USA, reached out for a Tool and called an OA friend in recovery. “What I got in return,” she says, ”was a gift I never expected.” (And the gift came via a Step Ten inventory.)
My Three-Legged Stool Kept Falling Over Until I Started ‘Acting as If’
“I heard the word God and nearly ran out the door,” says Anonymous from Illinois USA, “but I stayed and listened to the leader talk about hope.” Turns out, a belief in God wasn’t necessary, nor was belief in a higher power. All that was needed were three simple words and three simple Steps.
I Was Transformed from a Lifetime of Compulsive Eating to a World of Recovery by Working OA’s Twelve Steps
“I am not like normal eaters,” says Lori B. from Canada, who joined OA at age 62. Learning this in her first OA meeting “lifted a huge weight from my shoulders,” she says, “as I could hear the promise of a solution.” It has taken 6 years, including one bout of relapse, but today Lori has found her secret to recovery.
I Returned to OA Because My Spirit Hunger Can’t be Nourished by a Box, Bag, Bottle, Batch, Bin, or Bucket of Food
Kara M. did all the “research”: dieting, binge eating, bulimia, weight-loss surgery. In the end, she still felt malnourished. “I was starving for something take-out food could not provide,” she recalls. And then God called her back to OA, and she learned how to change with the help and support of our program.