It’s the most wonderful time
of the year to be abstinent
The holidays can be a tough time for compulsive eaters. Here are just a sampling of suggestions for getting through them while maintaining your abstinence.
Use Step One: Remind yourself that you are powerless over food. Remember the pain, suffering, and unmanageability of your life when you eat compulsively.
Live one day at a time! Don’t think about getting through the entire holiday season. Instead, focus on staying abstinent until you go to sleep tonight.
Strong Abstinence Checklist is an OA document that can be even more helpful during this part of the year.
Use your sponsor.
Make all your meetings.
Failing to plan is planning to fail. If you’re not eating at home, call the host ahead of time and find out what is being served. There shouldn’t be much stigma: People without our disease also restrict their food in ways they need. Volunteer to bring something that you can eat.
Plan to go to a meeting the day after the holiday. Often the most dangerous period is after going through a difficult occasion successfully. Subconsciously or consciously, the insanity of the disease tells us to reward ourselves with food because we did so well the day before. Or, we suffer a letdown because the holiday did not meet our expectation. Or perhaps, we feel an emptiness that we previously filled with food.
Prepare abstinent foods that are your favorites. If you’re the host, you get to decide how things are made! Focus on the guests, not the food.
HALT! Don’t allow yourself to get too hungry, angry, lonely, or tired.
Make calls before and after the party.
Start the holiday with Step 11.
Focus on the true meaning of the event, be it gratitude, religious holiday, and/or fellowship with family, co-workers, and friends.
Send leftovers away with guests. Have paper plates and bags on hand so they can make a plate to go.
Arrive late and leave early. You can always adjust if you’re feeling safe.
Attend a workshop. Ottawa District Intergroup in hosting a virtual workshop on this topic Sunday, Dec, 8th at 1 p.m.
* More information about the workshop
* More holiday suggestions
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