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May/June 2015
Notes of Hope
June 6th 1:30-3:00
Workshop
June 15th MTI Business
Meeting
July 20th MTI Business
Meeting
New Officers:
Thank you so much for those who have been serving as
the officers of the IG. You stepped up and have done a
great job.
We now have new officers in place. Here is a list of all
of the officers of IG.
Chair—Robin E
Vice Chair—Pat C
Treasurer—Peter G
Secretary—Joyce K
Region 8 Rep—Melissa H
World Service Delegate—Dianne B
Future issues of Notes of Hope
We only have a few members committed to and following through on writing articles. I
need some feedback from the group if you want this newsletter to continue and if so what
you would like to see included. I usually go along with Lifeline, but I’m also open for suggestions.
Here are the next few months from Lifeline:
July—open sharing and writing on anything you wish
August—Meetings: How did you get to your first OA meeting, meeting inspirations,
Strong Healthy Meetings
September—Relationships; setting healthy boundaries
October—Character defects: an examined life
November—Gratitude
December—Celebrate the season—abstinently
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What I've Learned From Relapse
I am a relapse survivor...several times over. What I learned is that every time...and I mean
EVERY time I picked up "just a bit" of a binge food it was to soothe an anger or fear that was
attached to my job. And of course that "just a bit" turned into "never enough."
I've set a course of action to address what it is about work that stirs up strong emotions within
me. I honestly do not possess a fear of economic insecurity, but I believe some of it has to do
with being raised by Depression-era parents who drilled into me the mindset of, "there are
people in line waiting for your job. Always do your best to keep that job," etc. I am working the
steps specifically around my career/food connection. This is also a frequent topic of conversation with my sponsor (bless her!). One day at a time I am abstinent and I've recently become
willing to give up a food that, while ok for many people, is not ok for me.
I'm still processing and I ask God to reveal answers in His time.
Pam
When I think of Relapse I think of two distinct periods in my OA membership, where I really
struggled with my weight. One time was when I began dating my now, ex-husband. I have
shared that during that time, we went out to eat more, and were spending lots of time together.
I have chosen to see that time as a growing lesson for me, that was repeated during my last couple of years in graduate school. I chose to spend more time on a person, and then on an experience (graduate school) than I did on my recovery. I understand my choices and I accept my
choices. The longer I have been in OA (I just keep coming back) I see we all move through times
like this. During both of these times, my weight crept up over 2-3 years. I was not bingeing, I
was not eating sugar, and I was eating out more. I strove to keep squeezing in meetings, prayer, sponsor time, exercise, and doing what I know to do - and in addition, squeezing in more into
my life (dating someone, traveling, study, graduate school, practicum, and class). I am human, I
only have so much time. My choices were not perfect, as evidenced by my weight creeping up
and I admitted that in meetings. I shared about my weight gain. I reached out for help and admitted to myself and another person out loud (several people in fact) about where I was. I kept
coming, I kept going to meetings, and I stayed in recovery. My HP blessed me with the willingness to make some different choices and to follow what other people shared about going through
similar times. I had to be very careful here - because in my mind, had I looked at this black and
white, good/bad, wrong/right, I may not have kept coming. My sponsor and HP blessed me with
the willingness to see that this was a learning time, a time for me to see what it is like to be human. NOT a time to see if I was SUCCESSFUL or a FAILURE. What a change for me. Had
not this insight been given to me, I may have let weight gain keep me out of the rooms and I
may not have been back. Yet here I am, and I know that I will grow more in the future, and
struggle with my body, food, and how to "fit it all in" again. I am human. I continue to ask HP
too keep me willing to accept my humanness then take action to do the next right thing.
Much love to each of you,
Melissa H.