My Fourth Step Support Animal
Have you ever asked yourself, “Why is this pet, or this person, in my life right now?” One of the joys of recovery is realizing there’s a reason.
Have you ever asked yourself, “Why is this pet, or this person, in my life right now?” One of the joys of recovery is realizing there’s a reason.
Taking an anniversary cruise while carrying 300 pounds (136 kg) of body weight left Elizabeth feeling despondent and suicidal. When she joined OA, her weight loss journey began. But her greatest progress so far has been working the Steps to covering and recover from the dysfunctions that have been driving her compulsive overeating.
“I used perfectionism as an excuse for not doing the next right thing,” says Amy. ”If I waited to be ‘struck abstinent,’ I’d be dead and buried in a piano box.” Instead she has turned stubbornness into perseverance, worked her program imperfectly, and is maintaining a 200-pound (91-kg) weight loss.
From only a few relationships driven by selfishness, fear, and people pleasing to an abundance of healthy friendships—an incredible change made possible by working the Steps.
Sharon’s old life was one of constant bingeing and restricting and a false belief that being thin meant being happy. That all changed as the result of working the Twelve Steps, and in this story, Sharon shares her two main methods for working the Steps: 1) quickly every day and 2) slowly and thoroughly over weeks and months.
When I first came into Overeaters Anonymous, I quickly learned to respect anonymity: who I saw, who said what—none of that was mine to share with anyone.
Linda, grateful compulsive overeater, and Beverly, compulsive overeater, host this workshop on Step Eleven: “Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God as we understood Him, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out.” Examples of prayer and meditation are discussed.