Terri explains what her religious friends and the strangers she has encountered don’t understand: that nothing can help her overcome her bingeing except her Higher Power, the Twelve Steps, and the Fellowship of Overeaters Anonymous.
Mary Ann weighed 236 pounds (107 kg) and was facing a fatal liver condition. That was her wake up call. She came to OA, threw herself into the program, lost 106 pounds (48 kg), and has found spiritual, physical, and emotional recovery.
E.C.’s has persisted in OA for more than 20 years, and the inevitable result is abstinence from compulsive overeating and a strong program of recovery.
I’ll never forget my last close call with bingeing. I had just left the doctor’s office after a check-up in early May 2006. It was my first time meeting this doctor. I was 35 pounds (16 kg) overweight and two weeks back into program. She was professional and told me I needed to lose weight … Continued
Karen, who has maintained a 210-pound (95-kg) weight loss for more than fifteen years, uses the Tools of Recovery to maintain her program just as diligently as she uses tools and resources for automobile maintenance to keep the first car she ever bought new in good running condition. The road in OA, she notes, is ”not always smooth and comfortable, but it is leading me to freedom” (For Today, p. 288).
Writing can clarify emotions, reveal character defects, and enhance recovery. When it is shared, writing can even help other OA members with their own recoveries.
Food and rage were Judith’s ways of dealing with stress before OA. In this story, she recounts how using the telephone Tool both to call and text her sponsor and other OA members helped her take her next Step and truly feel the support coming from her Higher Power.
At an OA retreat, Heather responded to the question “How do you carry the message in meetings, as sponsors, with fellows, and in your everyday life?” We are happy to publish her response in Lifeline.
A simple (but not easy) note of gratitude for all who contribute to Lifeline.
Naomi expresses how valuable it is to her recovery to hear the recovery stories of other OA members.