For Today: October 28th

You can be healed (of depression) if every day you begin the first thing in the morning to consider how you can bring a real joy to someone else.  If you can stick to this for two weeks you will no longer need therapy.

Alfred Adler

It’s simple: every time I get my mind off myself, I feel better.  Each day, I select a member of my family, a friend, a colleague or an OA member and think about what I can do for that person.  (Of course, in making an effort to bring joy to others, I must be careful not to intrude on their lives.  Giving advice to someone I am trying to cheer is a temptation I resist.)

I spend some of my free time planning what I will do; then, at the first opportunity, I carry out the project.  It need not be a major undertaking; a phone call, a letter, a small surprise, an offer to babysit or take an elderly person for a drive.  There are so many things to do, one lifetime is not enough.

For Today:  It isn’t necessary to be depressed to adopt the practice of making others happy.

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When I step OUT of my own HEAD is when I feel the best.  Giving back to others, even in a small way, keeps me focused and out of the refrigerator.  When I 'pay it forward' is when I'm working my plan properly and when abstinence comes naturally.

Compulsive overeating is a disease of isolation.........sometimes, I tend to want to curl up in a ball and spend my day in bed, hiding out from the world.  THIS is when it's most important for me NOT to hide out, but to join in on life and to give of myself.  Certainly, there are others in far worse shape than ME......and I choose to give some of myself and/or my time to those who are suffering.


For today, I pray for the ability & the willingness to bring a ray of sunshine & happiness into someone else's life.