First, a
huge thank you to all the brave ones who share here regularly. I admit to "lurking" more than contributing. You make me feel brave, too, and it's wonderful to hear I'm not alone with this struggle.
I'm trying to honestly look at my 30+ years of starve/binge/diet cycle. I realize that 1) another diet isn't going to solve this, and 2) I need to do something different. Maybe OA is the answer. I don't know yet.
I do know that many have successfully maintained weight loss for years (after lifelong attempts, like me), without using OA. Why do you think it works for them? Apparently, something "clicked" - which is something I keep waiting for. If it can happen for them, is it possible for everyone?
At the same time, why does OA work for some and not others? Why can the same issues (bingeing, food cravings, secretive eating, obsessive dieting) be overcome
without OA by some, and yet OA is the
only answer for others? Isn't it all "food addiction"? Or maybe not.
Is addiction behavioral? Chemical? Both?
I ask these questions as the daughter of a 25-year recovering alcoholic. Mom started in AA but has maintained sobriety on her own. I remember ALL the slogans to this very day! I'm so afraid that I'll just trade one obsession (OA phone calls, sponsors, literature, slogans, meetings, etc.) for my previous one (dieting). I'm such an obsessive person anyway, I know it'll simply be another "center" in my life! I don't want a new obsession. Sigh.
PLEASE please
please forgive me if this sounds offensive in any way (one of the drawbacks of written communication). I have enormous respect for all who have found abstinence through the OA program. It has literally saved lives. I'm just trying to work things out for myself.
Your thoughts? I really appreciate your wisdom. Any feedback is appreciated.
(By the way, I have attended a few meetings some years back, and they didn't click at all with me. But I do read the OA "For Today" devotional, which I love and always go back to.)
PS: I'm a Christian and agree totally that a Higher Power is central to healing this area of our lives.