I Was Denied Weight-Loss Surgery. I Was Skeptical about OA, but Now I Have Hope, Health, and Happiness
Here I was at my rock bottom, and I didn’t feel I had any other choice.
Readings
Different Manifestations of Our Disease
What does someone with life-threatening anorexia have in common with a “garden variety” compulsive overeater? Would you believe they are: problems with stepping on the scale, issues with body image, and similar approaches to plans of eating? Read and find out why!
Different Ways of Finding Recovery
In this story, two OA members share their paths to recovery. One is marked by the significant decision to change sponsors. The other, trying different meetings until landing upon the right specific-focus meeting. Says one of the members, “Thank you, OA, for embracing and encouraging diversity. No matter where I am in my recovery process, my needs are met.”
Different Paths to Unity
Part of a Unity with Diversity series of stories from the February 2018 Lifeline, OA members Heidi and Lynda demonstrate how the diverse paths of a) coming back to meetings regardless and b) avoiding OA altogether for 30 years can both lead us (eventually) to unity and recovery.
Different Genders, Ethnicities, and Ages
Binge eating can affect anyone, regardless of gender, ethnicity, and age. Denise, age 62, and Matt, who came into OA at age 21 both share their experiences and the strength, hope, and solution that they have found in OA.
Never and Always
“I can freely, honestly, and humbly admit that I am powerless over food,” says Carolyn M. When she takes OA’s First Step, it is not in hopeless defeat. Instead it is the beginning of a hopeful and liberating journey with a source of help that “gives me a peace I cannot describe.”
An IDEA Once Planted
“Through nurturing both a small plant gifted in celebration of abstinence and my OA program, I’ve learned that with care, patience, and renewed enthusiasm, growth and beauty can always be rediscovered—even after 9,190 days.”
Step Seven Save
”I struggle so much with the character defect of pride,” says one OA member, “and I find the antidote in the Principle of Step Seven: humility.”
Mopping Up Mistakes
Dorothy cheated her employers to the tune of thousands of dollars, and she was hopeless to pay back such a large sum. But her sponsor encouraged her, she became willing, and Higher Power responded in kind.
Who’s In Charge? All of Us
“We are all in charge of our own side of the street and our own programs,” says one OA member, who remarks how gratifying it is that service body decisions are all based on following our primary purpose: to carry the message of recovery.