One of my favorite passages from the OA Twelve and Twelve is this from Step Five: “Most of us find that fear is at the root of many of our damaging emotions and actions. As we grow in the Twelve Step way of life, we learn that our fears usually stem from our inability to trust that our basic needs will be met. Perhaps we have … Continued
“I ate when I was anxious, fearful, lonely, or tired” (Voices of Recovery, p. 254). I can add more to that list: I ate when I was excited, happy, with people, or wide awake. Food gave me confidence and allowed me to act happy in deplorable situations. I was in a job I didn’t like and a sick marriage, and my … Continued
After four and a half years in OA, Rachel had experienced both solid abstinence and a period when life’s challenges had her surviving but not thriving. “What really propelled me through,” she says of this challenging time in her life, “was working another set of Steps.”
“I am learning,” says Liz, ”that if I review my emotions and my behavior daily, then responding to and resolving issues becomes easier and fewer matters build up over time.”
John hated his grandmother for the way she treated him as a kid. And he ate over it. But by working Steps Eight and Nine and by doing a “forgiveness inventory,” he got to the bottom of it and was able to forgive. “This program is amazing,” he writes.
“I need to forgive myself for my addiction,” says Anonymous. Thankfully, we can all share in this very powerful part of Step Nine.
Gerri, an abstinent food addict and compulsive overeater, and Karen, abstinent compulsive overeater and food addict, host this workshop on Step Seven: “Humbly asked him to remove our shortcomings.”
Kaitlin’s sugar addiction started in middle school after her parents’ divorce caused a number of stresses in her life. She later discovered bulimia and started overexercising, using laxatives, and vomiting. Today she has a new life that she once thought was impossible.
Esti remembers as a teen feeling a compulsive need to diet and believing she was heavier than she actually was. She ate to cope with negative emotions and could not stop thinking about food.
Esti recalls immediately feeling comfortable at OA meetings and finding abstinence. Looking back, Esti says her inner life has changed significantly, and she is able to live her life without obsessing about food.
Before OA, food ruled Dodie’s every waking moment, even from a very early age. In college, Dodie weighed 215 pounds (97.5 kg) and felt trapped in ugliness. When she realized she had a problem with food, she found OA, and now maintains a 85-pound (38.5-kg) weight loss.