I was once where you are. Emotionally spent. I had been struggling alone with food and weight since puberty. Then I bumped into the Twelve Steps. It was in Overeaters Anonymous that I learned I had an incurable disease, not of my own doing, and there was a spiritual solution.
My mind received messages about food that other people never heard. They didn’t have food battles to fight. My body responded differently to food than other people, like an allergy. Over time, because the disease is progressive, I became addicted to food as an alcoholic becomes addicted to alcohol. I didn’t understand how Let Go Let God worked, but the serenity in the meeting room and prayer to begin and end the meeting instilled hope.
Here was an answer to prayer, and I was ready for action. Write down feelings. Stay off the scale. Quit micro-managing the food, just do moderate amounts and sit down at the table. Pick up the phone. Work the Steps. Make four columns. Make a list of harms done and ask for forgiveness. Learn to meditate. All along the way, I was helping others as I helped myself.
Amazing God (my HP)! A “simple kit of spiritual tools” solved the problem. I was protected from myself, a position of neutrality with food. I was not cured, but in a remission of symptoms of a disease that had been eroding the fabric of my life.
What did I learn? God (my HP) loves me and will help me with any concern if I let him, especially the small stuff I think I should be able to handle myself. I do not have to do everything for everybody (Type E woman). I added NO to my vocabulary. You gain weight the same way you lose weight: adopt a sensible plan of eating and stick with it. Self-care is not selfish. Virtue is in the middle-balance and moderation in all things.
In summary, my relationship with God (my HP) is paramount. Steps Three and Step Eleven are the glue of Twelve Step living. Open your heart and hands; you are no longer alone.
— N.J., Illinois