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Being affected by a compulsive eating disorder does not and
never did make me a bad person. It did not make me an unmoral person, an
unspiritual person, or an un-virtuous person—it made me a person with
an illness and no more. One of the most empowering steps in my recovery
was waking up to the fact that even at the deepest darkest stages of my
disease, I was a good man who had a lot of very positive qualities. I
was not morally less-than or substandard. I was not evil, bad, or
defective. When I finally understood and accepted the idea that being
morbidly obese was just a symptom of an eating disorder, and not a sin
or moral failing, I could begin to move from being angry at myself, to
nurturing my own spirit and thus, my recovery. I could move from
self-pity to something very constructive and empowering: acceptance and
self-compassion. Those were the assets for recovery that I had to get in
touch with before much of anything else could work for me. I had to
begin to believe that I was worth recovering.
The fact is that I am not my fat. I may carry extra fat tissue on my
body, but it is not who I am. I 'have' an eating disorder, but it is not
who I am.
I am in fact, Dave, a child of a loving higher power. I am not a
compulsive overeater, I am a human being who eats compulsively, i.e. has
binge eating disorder.
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| I feel that Overeaters
Anonymous is but one possible tool
among many options. Each to his or
her own. What works for one person
may not work for another. The idea
is to keep trying new angles till you
find what works for you. You own
your recovery and have the right to
personalize it in any way that feels
comfortable. There are many roads
to health and wholeness.
CAUTION: Two of the biggest impediments
to recovery for people with Binge Eating Disorder
(BED) are
Perfectionism and
All or Nothing Thinking. We feel
somehow that we must "diet" perfectly, and that's a set up for the
most common trigger to a binge. When we lapse or deviate in any small
way from our eating plan, we feel like we have failed entirely. The
next step is to binge. We may tell ourselves something like, "since
I've already 'blown it' for the day, I might as well have one last
binge and start over tomorrow". The concept of
ABSTINENCE, coupled with a rigid
eating plan, is almost certainly bound to exacerbate BED.
ABSTINENCE is usually presented and discussed in terms of; if one
isn't abstinent, it follows that they are not in recovery. This All or
Nothing view works well for alcoholics in AA, but not for people with
BED, At least if the concept is taken literally as it's described in
AA literature. A drunk person certainly isn't working toward positive
healthy goals while they are inebriated, but a person in OA who is
still overeating or binging certainly can be. They may be progressing
on many levels even when their food isn't "perfect". Food is not a
psychoactive substance. If you choose to incorporate Overeaters
Anonymous into your personal recovery, please don't let the concept of
ABSTINENCE become a roadblock to your progress. |
Eating Disorders Anonymous - A young 12 Step fellowship that
understands eating disorders. EDA endorses sound nutrition and
discourages any form of rigidity around food. Food is nourishment for
mind, soul and body. Balance – not abstinence – is our goal. We
encourage our members to work with qualified professionals, such as
registered dieticians and therapists trained in treating eating
disorders. |
Dave's Journey to Fitness