newbie

[free2bme85]

Hi, I'm new to this whole thing, and a little over 3 mos. sober. I have been able to stay away from the alcohol and drugs, but the food has been a whole other issue. It's always been about the food anyway, the drugs and alcohol were just replacers or distractions, and now that they are not available I have been going crazy with my eating.
I have been going to AA and NA meetings several times a week but I haven't found a sponsor. I haven't been to an OA meeting yet, and going to one is going to be a big step for me. I am really hitting a rut here, and I can't stop eating. I was wondering if anyone has any advice for me.

Thanks!

[Pony]

Well, first off welcome to SR and this forum. Advice....hhmmm.....let me think......go to the OA meeting...

I say that because it really is alot like going to an AA or NA meeting and if you are going to find a sponsor maybe you should find one that has had experience with all those forms of addiction.

I know what you are saying when you talk about it being all about the food and eating. I too, have been fighting this food addiction for very long time. Most of my life. I also substituted drinking for the food...but not enough of it because I still gained wieght. Now it's about dealing with the food and the issues surrounding why I use it as a drug.

Hang out here and get to know all of us and I hope that you will feel at home.

[Nina Kay]

Hi free2bme85,
Welcome to SR and specifically to the Eating Disorders Forum. I'm glad you found us. You will get alot of support and encouragement here from others who are going through what you have, dealing with eating problems. I am a compulsive overeater and an all-around food addict. I used to always say that I was a foodaholic. Congratulations on your 3 months of sobriety. That is an important accomplishment. It does sound to me like you really need to get to an OA Meeting and get a sponsor. There are alot of people with your addiction problems, so that you should look for a sponsor who understands from her own experience what all that you're dealing with. I put off getting a sponsor for a long time and since I've gotten one recently, I really wish that I hadn't waited so long. I've made some progress in my recovery that I could have already made before if only I'd gotten a sponsor sooner. No sense in suffering more than you have to. Keep coming back here and reading and posting.

[free2bme85]

Thanks to you both for the replies! It was so nice to log in and see that people cared enough to reply to my post.

Last night I went to an AA meeting that i really like and I shared that I haven't been to a meeting in more than a week. After the meeting this woman came up to me and started lecturing me on how a week without meetings was not acceptable and bla bla bla- everything I already knew, and already felt awful about. I go to those meetings for support, not to be lectured. I know she was trying to help, but people crtiticizing me is a huge relapse trigger, and all today I have been fantasizing about taking a little hiatus from sobriety. I just needed to get that out there.

Tonight there is a meeting at 7pm and I will go to it. That is a commitment I am willing to make to this forum.

[Nina Kay]

Hi free,
I'm sorry that you came up against someone that was so overeager to show you how to fix yourself. There seems to be some in every group. They really mean well, but they forgot where they came from. I really hope that you won't let that one person drive you back to the darkness and lose all that you've accomplished. I do understand how that kinda thing can trigger you though. I hope that you'll want to keep coming back here for the support and encouragement that you'll need and we need you too.