Social Situations
Many of us find it especially difficult to follow our food plan when we go to parties and eat with friends. We may feel deprived if we do not eat and drink what everyone else is eating and drinking. Sometimes we maintain our abstinence at the party and then go home and break it for some strange kind of emotional compensation.
The longer we live the OA program, the easier it becomes to deal with social situations. We begin to realize that the company is more important than the food and drink, and we discover that we can enjoy being with our friends regardless of what we are or are not consuming. We also become convinced that only by abstaining do we maintain our health and sanity, and we value these more than whatever refreshments are being served.
Because we are stronger now than we were before, we are less affected by the social pressure to do what everyone else is doing. We know who we are and how we can best live our own lives.
May I enjoy my friends more than food.
****************************************************
I can relate here 100%. Every now & then, I DO feel deprived in a social situation, when everyone is gorging themselves with food, while I eat a green salad with chicken, dressing on the side, blah blah blah. And the urge to overeat hits me afterward.........when I get home. I'm fine during the event, and struggling later.
Being aware of this possibility is half the battle; preparing myself for the urge to binge that may come helps me have a plan in place to deal with it. COE is a funny disease.........it strikes out of the blue, and can hit with the force of a tornado! Cunning, sly and powerful indeed.
Over the years of abstinence, I have found that I DO enjoy the company in a social situation MORE than the food. The event shouldn't be all about the food........it should be all about the people. But, the people tend to MAKE it all about the FOOD.
Food: the one addictive substance that's legal, available 24/7, and socially unacceptable NOT to eat! Ever go to someone's house and get a dirty look from the cook about why you're not eating the trigger foods she's prepared?
If others could only know how 'one bite' would and could send us off on a downward spiral that we may not recover from.
For today, I pray to use food for fuel purposes only, and to keep my disease in recovery status. Amen.
Many of us find it especially difficult to follow our food plan when we go to parties and eat with friends. We may feel deprived if we do not eat and drink what everyone else is eating and drinking. Sometimes we maintain our abstinence at the party and then go home and break it for some strange kind of emotional compensation.
The longer we live the OA program, the easier it becomes to deal with social situations. We begin to realize that the company is more important than the food and drink, and we discover that we can enjoy being with our friends regardless of what we are or are not consuming. We also become convinced that only by abstaining do we maintain our health and sanity, and we value these more than whatever refreshments are being served.
Because we are stronger now than we were before, we are less affected by the social pressure to do what everyone else is doing. We know who we are and how we can best live our own lives.
May I enjoy my friends more than food.
****************************************************
I can relate here 100%. Every now & then, I DO feel deprived in a social situation, when everyone is gorging themselves with food, while I eat a green salad with chicken, dressing on the side, blah blah blah. And the urge to overeat hits me afterward.........when I get home. I'm fine during the event, and struggling later.
Being aware of this possibility is half the battle; preparing myself for the urge to binge that may come helps me have a plan in place to deal with it. COE is a funny disease.........it strikes out of the blue, and can hit with the force of a tornado! Cunning, sly and powerful indeed.
Over the years of abstinence, I have found that I DO enjoy the company in a social situation MORE than the food. The event shouldn't be all about the food........it should be all about the people. But, the people tend to MAKE it all about the FOOD.
Food: the one addictive substance that's legal, available 24/7, and socially unacceptable NOT to eat! Ever go to someone's house and get a dirty look from the cook about why you're not eating the trigger foods she's prepared?
If others could only know how 'one bite' would and could send us off on a downward spiral that we may not recover from.
For today, I pray to use food for fuel purposes only, and to keep my disease in recovery status. Amen.
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