How my life changed in OA

Before joining Overeaters Anonymous, my life was a bit of a mess. I had experienced my fair share of traumatic events in life but thought I had come out the other end. That was, until I realized that my life had become unmanageable. I was binge eating a lot. Whether I was happy, sad, mad, anxious, stressed, tired, or frustrated. You name it, food was the answer to all my problems. Or at least that’s what I thought. 
 
It wasn’t until a string of unfortunate events at work that I began to realize that food was part of my problem. I was using it to self-sooth. I didn’t want to feel the feels, so instead, I ate. That made me feel good. It was comforting and often, when I ate excessive amounts of sugar, it put me into an altered state of mind. Pretty much a sugar high, which felt good, until it didn’t. 
 
My constant binging affected my mood, my health, my bank account, and almost cost me my career. I was irritable, lazy, angry, and frustrated with everyone and everything. I had no idea why, but I kept going back to the food, until one day I couldn’t take it anymore. 
 
Having tried every diet out there, I decided to go to an OA meeting. At first, I thought, this is weird, what have I gotten myself into. I’m not a religious person, I don’t relate to people who talk about God, and I certainly don’t want to give up the food. But I was hitting rock bottom and desperate, so I persevered, and went to a few different meetings. 
 
What I learned was that I wasn’t alone. There were others like me, except many of them had recovered. I wanted what they had, so I asked someone to be my sponsor, and began working the steps. I quickly realized that this wasn’t a religious cult, but a spiritual program, which is very different. I’m not a fan of religion but kept an open mind and listened and began to learn. 
 
Working the steps wasn’t easy but it was pretty straightforward. It took me a bit of time, but not that long. Before I knew it, I was in recovery, and finally able to put down the food. No longer was I compelled to eat. No longer did I feel out of control. 
 
I realized that the food was the drug of choice for me, and I needed a solution. What I found was a much easier solution, but it’s taken years of practice to get to where I am today. The good news is that it doesn’t feel like years of practice, because really, it’s just one day at a time. 
 
I wish I had learned about Overeaters Anonymous sooner. I can’t even imagine how much time, money, and pain I’ve had to endure over the years due to this disease. Thankfully, I’m recovered, having worked the steps. I’m not cured though, and don’t believe I’ll ever be cured. But that’s one of the many things I don’t worry about anymore. That’s because I now have a way of managing my emotions and navigating life without the need for the compulsive food behaviours that had me handcuffed for the best part of my life before Overeaters Anonymous.  
 
To date, I’ve lost over 60lb, have balance in my life, a great job, supportive family, and a new purpose. It all started with that first meeting, and now, I’ll never look back. 
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