What does it mean to live life in between mealtimes? Follow the story of this anonymous OA member who describes her day and how even small, mundane activities can reflect back to you your own state of recovery.
Anothony V. from Pennsylvania USA finds a lesson in the pain that comes from emotional pain, whether a slip or relapse back into compulsive eating or childhood trauma. “Today I can thank God for that pain . . .” he says.
Donna from Massachusetts USA has seen just about the worst in terms of the hardships that life can throw at you. Yet in OA, her life has been transformed into one of abundance. “I love the real stuff of this world,” she says. “I appreciate the struggle.”
“I’ve found it helpful—and even necessary—to rewrite the prayers in ways that make them more meaningful to me,” says A.M. who says this helps with his humility and gives him greater strength and hope.
Jacki’s prayerful poem beautifully creates a space for conscious contact with your own Higher Power.
Lisa A. from California USA saw that abstinent OA members not only committed to their plan of eating but also committed to working the OA program. Keeping her abstinence has required adjustments over the years, but nevertheless, “I am free from compulsive eating . . . and free to experience the promises . . . of the Big Book,” she says.
Martine from Texas USA used to binge eat on the way home from work, stopping at multiple fast food drive-thrus. “But tonight . . .,” she says, ”I thanked my Higher Power . . . and the OA program for giving me the freedom . . . to look back on my day of healthy and abstinent eating.”
Sepidah, an OA member from Iran, came into the program feeling physically, mentally, and spiritually bankrupt. “I could barely bear the weight of my soul,” she says. Through OA and working the Twelve Steps, however, she has found a workable solution. “I am calm,” she says. “I sleep more peacefully . . . and I have better balance in working the Steps.”
As I continue to work the Steps and continue to attend meetings, I’ve been delivered more hope and faith in the power of this program . . . I came into Overeaters Anonymous nearly a year ago, distraught and caught in a relentless cycle of bingeing and at other times bingeing and purging. I was … Continued
“I was a fat kid, a fat adolescent, and . . . weighing 315 pounds (143 kg), I was a fat adult,” says Stuart, an OA member from Louisiana USA. Stuart suffered relapses and weight gains “but I never quit coming back,” he says. “In concert with my Higher Power, I have achieved a normal body weight of 139–144 pounds (63–65 kg) for the very first time in my adult life. . . . I am eternally grateful.“