“I have always been an emotional eater,” says Kerry from Michigan USA, and as an advocate for social justice, strong emotions are part of her work life. When she recognized that she couldn’t control her binge eating behaviors, Kerry turned to OA and discovered the key to overcoming her compulsion.
“I am not the poster child for OA,” says Carol M. from Washington USA, “but I have a stable relationship with food and eating behaviors.” Read more as Carol shares how she created positive momentum in her OA program.
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.
Regarding the start of her relapse, Lee R. from Massachusetts USA reflects, “Looking back, I realize that what I was trying to do was “to be normal,” which could never happen. I am a compulsive overeater and nothing will ever change that.” But she never gave up hope and the miracle happened for her.
Every single time Denise B. from California USA tried to leave the OA program, her binge eating and excess weight returned. Read as she shares years’ worth of experience, strength, and hope on a journey that has ultimately has led her to absitinence and recovery.
Roberta L. from California USA joined OA in 1979. In spite of an early relapse, she kept coming back. She experienced her spiritual awakening in 2002, and since then she says, “My self-esteem has blossomed, and so has my life.” Enjoy her story of living in recovery.
All his life, Majid from Alborz, Iran, aspired to be like others, including other OA members. After trying all suggestions to find and keep abstinence, he finally came to understand that only by looking at his own experiences could he write a Plan of Eating that helped him find abstinence.
An upcoming knee replacement surgery was the catalyst for Stephanie to take a really good look at using the action plan Tool. The result of her preparations and efforts? “I am no longer afraid of what is to come or whether I will be able to remain abstinent. . . . Now I am a Spiritual Light.”
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.”